And They were Roommates
by benasabrina
Summary: Hatake Kakashi is losing his roommate thanks to love. But, he's so used to having someone stay with him, he wants to find another. Enter, Mitarashi Anko, who is leaving where she's staying, again, thanks to love. Kakashi offers her a place to stay. Will she and will romance bloom between the two shinobi?
1. Who Needs a Roommate?

"Wait, what do you mean you're moving out?"

Asuma sighs gently, his gaze looking right at the other Jonin who he's lived with for the past two years. "What I said, Kakashi, is exactly what I mean. Kurenai and I are finally moving in together."

His outer appearance didn't change much, but, on the inside, Kakashi scrunches up his face. Sure, he had been alone for most, if not all, of his adult life. But, he was actually used to having a roommate. And of course, Asuma is moving in with his girlfriend. Why wouldn't he? It's the next logical step in their relationship after all.

"So, you're finally admitting that you two have been an item? Not that the whole entire village did not know already. It was blatantly obvious. I bet even Naruto knew while he was still around," Kakashi says with a smirk pulling at his masked lips.

The older Jonin groans then threatens Kakashi with a headlock. Which, he does then gives the silver-haired Jonin a noogie. "What about you, huh? When are you going to find a special lady friend? I'm sure Kurenai can help in that department, Kakashi."

Kakashi groans at the noogie and finally escapes, fixing his… well he restored the orderly mess his hair is. He shoots Asume a look as if to say, 'Don't you dare ask me about a lady friend. I'm perfectly fine with how things are at the moment'. "I've been fine on my own for the last twenty-seven years. I'll be fine when you move out. Uh, when are you moving out, exactly?"

Asuma took the lollipop from his mouth and twirled it around his finger (Kakashi didn't let him smoke in the apartment). "Within the month. So, if you do need a new roommate, I suggest you start looking now, partner."

"Great…" Kakashi mumbles then relaxes against the sofa they were both sitting on. A hand goes down his face then he readjusts the mask, the one item of comfort he's always had. "I guess I can ask around. It would be nice to have help with rent, despite being able to afford it myself."

"And to not be alone, right, Kakashi?" Asuma grins cheekily and places a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Ask Gai. Hell, ask anyone. Just, don't be alone. Loneliness does things to you, man. You, of all people, need someone."

And with that, Asuma chuckles and walks away to his room to start packing.

Kakashi watches him go then sighs, leaning forward, and rests his elbows on his thighs. He reenacts the conversation they just had. Asuma's right. Living by himself is the worst thing for him. The Jonin sighs, running a hand through his hair. His life is definitely going to change. For the better or worse, he doesn't quite know.

And that's what bugs him. He hates not knowing how things will turn out. Kakashi usually has things under control, but this is just not turning out in his favor.

Sitting up straight, he smacks his face a bit. 'Come on, Hatake! It's just a new roommate. How hard can it be?' he asks himself then picks up his favorite novel and opens it to the page he left off at. Removing the bookmark, a little smile forms on his face. Well, seems like tomorrow he starts looking for a new occupant to live with him.

"Should be fun," he says to himself and turns the page.

xXx

The next morning, Kakashi sits up in bed and groans as he rubs the sleep away from his eyes. Mismatched orbs glance around his room, then he sighs. Shifting the blanket, his legs move and feet hit the floor beneath him.

Today's the day Kakashi looks for a new roommate.

The idea gives him a headache now. In a standing position, he stretches and sighs happily at the satisfying pops he heard. 'There,' he thinks to himself then starts getting ready for the busy day ahead.

His day was pretty much already set in stone. The only addition being to try and find a roommate. Should be easy, after all, who wouldn't want to room with him? He keeps to himself and is an excellent cook. Kakashi smile proudly to himself as he leaves the apartment and heads to the training grounds to meet up with his new team for a mission. He wanted to see how well they'd mesh and work together seeing as it's the first time with this group of shinobi. Hey, maybe he'll actually be on time for once.

That is, until he saw Iruka leaving his own apartment to head over to the academy. This is the perfect opportunity to see if the teacher wants a roommate.

Picking up the pace, Kakashi waves down the brunet. "Yo, Iruka-sensei. Good morning, what's up, got a minute?"

Iruka turns around as he adjusts his satchel bag full of papers and scrolls for the lessons of the day. He blinks curiously at the older Jonin. "Ah, Kakashi-sensei, good morning," he greets, bowing his head out of respect for the older male. "I think I can spare a few minutes. If you walk with me towards the Academy, that is. What do you want to talk to me about?" Iruka starts walking and Kakashi follows suit.

"Maa… How to ask…" He just decides to outright ask. "Do you need a roommate or anything? Because I have an extra room now. And well, the offer is there, if you want it."

The Chuunin blinks a few times then he rubs the back of his head. "Geez, Kakashi, I would but… See, I'm actually in the process of having Ayame move in with me."

Kakashi's brow raises under the hitae-ate. "Ayame? Teuchi's daughter? Since when were you two together?"

Iruka smiles to himself then laughs slightly nervously. "Well, you see, one thing led to another… I've seen her so many times whenever I took Naruto there, or even Konohamaru… One day, I just asked her out." The smile on his face grows, eyes closing. "Turns out, she actually had a crush on me too! That was… quite a few months ago, actually. So… if I were still on my own, I would have said yes. Sorry, Kakashi. Have you tried Gai? Genma? Aoba? What about Kotetsu or Izumo?"

As much as he cares about Gai, Kakashi isn't sure he can actually live with the man. He's certain that the eccentric man might actually make him go crazy. Kakashi grimaces inwardly at that. He'll ask him, just… not now.

"I'll talk to them. Thank you, and good luck, Iruka-sensei." With a smile, Kakashi waves the teacher off then bows before he takes his leave, flickering away.

xXx

Glancing up towards the sun, Kakashi knew he had some time before meeting with his teammates. Besides, if he actually showed up on time, the new Jonins might think it's normal for him to do so. It's fun to be late, anyways. So, he decides to seek out another fellow Jonin before he heads to the training grounds. Reaching back into his hip pouch, Kakashi pulls out a familiar red book and reads as he walks.

After some time, the next Jonin Kakashi ran into was actually Gai. Looking towards the Noble Blue Beast, the man sighs then pockets his book and soon his hand. He nods his hello.

"Morning, Gai. What's up?"

Gai, in all his usual spunkiness no matter what time of day, gives Kakashi a thumbs up and smiles brightly (Kakashi could have sworn he actually saw his teeth sparkle from the morning sunlight). It's definitely too early for this.

"Ah! Kakashi, good morning! Ready for a day of youthful activities ahead of us!? Want to start it off with a spar, my rival?" Gai bellows as he spins and strikes a pose. "Or any kind of challenge! I'm itchin' for a rematch, Kakashi!"

With a head tilt, the silver-haired male stares at his best friend. Despite his eccentricities, Gai is his closest friend. He's always been there for him. Maybe it would be a good idea for him to have Gai as a roommate.

"Let's skip the challenge for now, Gai. But, I do have a question to ask you. I have a free room if you want to move in? Don't feel obligated to! I understand if you can't do it… I mean, Iruka is having Ayame move in with him- Who knew the kid had it in him, eh?"

Gai raises a brow then strokes his chin. "My eternal rival, as much as I'd love to move in with you, I have Lee living with me and we're quite comfortable with where we are! I'm sorry, Kakashi. Have you tried anyone else?"

Kakashi actually couldn't believe it. He thought Gai of all people would jump at the notion of living with his rival. But, he understands, Lee does need a father-figure and Gai was that person for him. Sasuke was that for him. At least, he liked to think so. Until he left the village for Orochimaru. Kakashi just nods towards him then holds up a fist. "I'm in the process. So, how about a quick rock-paper-scissors match? Before I head to my team?" Gives him a much better excuse for being late.

"You're on, Kakashi! No cheating!"

"When have I ever cheat?" Kakashi asks, frowning under his mask he prepares for the little match.

Once both were ready, hands were hidden as they prepared for the match.

"Rock, paper, scissors!" they both cried out and extended their hands with their choice of hand symbol. Gai chose paper. Kakashi ended up choosing scissors. With an eye smile, Kakashi places his hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Better luck next time, Gai. Now, I gotta go. I'm late meeting my team. See ya!" Kakashi waves and walks off to finally meet up at the designated spot. He's only a few hours late, which is less time than he's been late before in the past. The only thing that would stop him would be if he saw another fellow shinobi to ask if they need a room.

And as it turns out, he does run into someone in particular.

xXx

"Kakashi!" came the voice. This earned the called shinobi to look up from his thoughts and raise his brow.

"Ah, Anko. Hello."

The two haven't exactly been close, but ever since the Chuunin exams, they have been chatting a bit more over Sasuke. The two were trying to see what's the best course of action for him especially given the fact that they both have something he does. Anko with the Curse Mark and Kakashi with the Sharingan. Too bad these plans turned out to be busted.

"So, did you hear the news?" Anko, always quick to the punch with what she wants to know or talk about.

Kakashi closes his beloved novel and puts it away, giving the other Tokubetsu Jonin his undivided attention. Crossing his arms, he hums as he thinks about any type of news he's heard recently. "You mean besides Kurenai and Asuma moving in together? Nope. Why? Do you know something I don't, Anko?"

"I was Kurenai's roommate! And since he's moving in I gotta go! Now, I gotta find a new place to stay! I mean, sure, I can stay. But, fuck no! I don't need to hear them being raunchy at night." She shivers. "Gross."

He laughs and shakes his head. "You do realize that sex is somewhat normal for people who are in relationships, right?" Kakashi then strokes his chin as he thinks for a brief moment. "Hey, I have a spare room. Move in with me?"

Anko's brown eyes shoot up towards Kakashi's lone gray one. Her gaze narrows. "Are you feeling alright? Because I could have sworn you just asked me to move in with you. You do know what you just said, right? I'm not hearing things?"

"Look, you need a place to stay and I don't care for being alone, to an extent, anymore. It's the perfect opportunity, Anko. I'll stay out of your hair and let you do your business. Besides, I'm hardly home as it is since we're down in numbers for missions. Lady Tsunade has kept me busy. It'll almost be like you got the place to yourself when I'm not around." He gives her an eye smile. "Just think about it? You do have a month, right?"

She sighs then scratches at her chin. Looking absolutely bored that moment, she shrugs. "Guess I could give it a shot. Being alone isn't that appealing anyways. Don't understand how you did it for so long, Kakashi."

Kakashi laughs nervously and relaxes a bit. "Well, I'm not alone per say anymore. I have a bunch of people that care about me. I assume you're one of them? I faintly recall you always being there when Gai asked me to join you all at the dango stand."

"Yeah? What of it? You're a fellow shinobi, Kakashi. A comrade. Of course I care."

His brow rose curiously. Hm, she does care. There's comfort in that, for some reason. And it has nothing to do with his little crush on her.

Right?

Maybe…

He never acted upon it when he was younger though. Given what Kakashi was going through while growing up, he didn't want anyone to get close to him. If anyone did, he'd felt like it could go wrong at any moment and they'd die by his hands. Just like Rin.

But Rin's death wasn't his fault. He knows this, but still feels partially to blame for what happened.

Things are different now, though. Maybe… maybe he can love now. He does care for his squad, despite them bickering at each other more so than working on teamwork. They'll mature sooner or later and Kakashi should have the perfect team. At least, he had hoped so. So much has changed over the past year. Who knew that his little squad of genin wouldn't be HIS anymore, what with Naruto training under Jiraiya and Sakura under Tsunade. He was alone yet again. Maybe he shouldn't have anymore Genin under his tutelage. He'll just stick with running missions with older shinobi, thanks.

Breaking from his thoughts, Kakashi looks over to Anko who seemed to have tried getting his attention the last several minutes. He blinks a few times, vision focusing. Did he really space out?

"Sorry, did you say something, Anko?"

Anko ends up rolling her eyes and patting his cheek gently. "Do you always space out when you talk to cute girls, Kakashi-kun?" She grins cheekily at the way she said his name. If only she knew how that made his heart actually skip a beat. After a moment, she takes her hand away from him and hums. "You don't get to know now. That's what you get for spacing out on me. Now… Shouldn't you go greet your squad and get ready for that A-Rank mission, Kakashi-kun?"

There his heart goes again. If she keeps this up, he's bound to have a heart attack. With a huff, he closes his exposed eye and tilts his head downward in a thinking position. "Firstly, Anko-chan," two can play at the name game, "we're not leaving til tomorrow. Today's just a sparring session to see how well the other Jonin and I mesh together. And, given that I can easily work with anyone, it shouldn't be a problem."

His gaze goes over to her and she looks like she's… sleeping?

The snake kunoichi fake snores, lets her head fall, then quickly "wakes" up, her head looking everywhere quickly. "I'm sorry, but, you were boring me." She takes a few steps away from him and turns quickly on her heel. "Anyways, I shouldn't keep you from your sparring session, dick measuring contest... Whatever it is you're planning doing with the boys." With a wave she starts walking off.

However, Kakashi was still curious on what she said when he was off in his own mind. "Wait, Anko! What did you say to me?"

Turning around once again, she smiles while walking backwards. "I asked you… Does the offer of your roommate come with relationship benefits? Because if so, you got yourself a deal, Kakashi-kun~."

With her so far away, he actually allowed himself to blush. Coughing into his fist, he shrugs. "Move in first, and we'll see where it goes," he calls out and waves as she finally goes.

Well, looks like he might finally have a roommate. It'll certainly be interesting to say the least. And, he might suddenly have a new girlfriend? He'll have to check back with her on that after he gets back from his mission.


	2. Moving In

"And then she asked me if being my roommate came with benefits."

Kakashi sat across from Iruka with his head in his hands, trying to figure out what could have happened a few weeks ago during his conversation with Anko.

"I think you're thinking way too much into it, Kakashi. You know how Anko is. She could just be very well playing around," the Chuunin replies as he marks a test that his students had finished earlier that morning. "Just, let it be. If not, why don't you go ask her what she meant by it?"

Crinkling his nose, Kakashi shakes his head. "I can't let it be known that it bothers me, Iruka. I'm supposed to be the cool, unnerving, nothing bothers him type of guy." He taps his fingers against the desk. "Besides, she'd probably just lie, or something. Anyways… she's supposed to be moving in today, so, regardless of how I feel," and he feels a lot of things towards the kunoichi, "I gotta go and help her."

Iruka's head tilts and he stands as well. "Need another hand? I've already finished grading these tests, and, my next class isn't for another few hours…"

Waving his hand nonchalantly, Kakashi again shakes his head. "Don't worry. I have my dogs helping us, especially Bull." His lone exposed eye seemed to have a sheen to it now. "Although… weren't you supposed to meet Ayame for a lunch date?"

"H-How did you know?"

Kakashi rests his chin on his hand and smirks under his mask. "I checked your schedule when you weren't looking. You should probably go or else you'll be laaaate~." He chuckles and watches as Iruka leaves quickly to head to Ichiraku to pick up Ayame. Like he's one to talk about being late for anything. Kakashi waves quickly but makes no movement to move out of the sensei's office.

Why is this bothering him so much? Iruka's right, perhaps Anko IS just messing around with him. He should bring it up with her. Will he? Who knows. Maybe she'll end up making the first move.

Sighing, Kakashi stands up from his seat, pockets his hands, and leaves Iruka's office and soon the Academy building.

Suddenly, his apartment seemed so far away. He looks down the dirt pathway that leads in the direction he's supposed to go and he crinkles his nose. 'Damn it, Hatake. Stop letting this get to you. She's just a comrade. A comrade that you've had a crush on since childhood.' A huff leaves his lips as he mentally shakes those thoughts away. No use dwelling on it and he definitely doesn't want to face her wrath if he's a second late so, he walks down the pathway until he eventually reaches his building.

Staring up to the floor his room is on, he hums gently then glances into the main foyer of the building. Boxes were already placed inside. Adjusting his sleeves, Kakashi heads inside and glances around to see if there's any sight of Anko.

Behind one of the boxes there's a familiar head of purple hair. Blinking a few times, he sneaks over and peers over the cardboard boundary and raises a brow. If she freaks out when he speaks, he'll have to have a long chat with her about paying attention to her surroundings at all times. 'What is she doing crouched behind these boxes anyways', he ponders to himself. Well, time to break the silence now rather than just wait for her to notice him.

"Anko? What are you doing?"

He expected a yelp or something from her. Which is kind of what he got. Kakashi blinks lazily at her brows knitting together. Once she turns around, a dango stick in her mouth, and eyes wide open, he can't help but chuckle and shake his head. "Lunch break? We've barely even started."

Swallowing her snack, she stands up and glares at Kakashi. "I could have choked! Don't sneak behind people when they're eating! Don't you have any manners?" Anko huffs then looks to the boxes, her eyes ablaze. "Bull and I were the ones who started this! You should have been here hours ago!"

Kakashi can feel the venom on her words course through his veins like ice. Okay, maybe being late for this wasn't such a good idea. Then again, it's totally in character for him to be late to things. Well, not everything. He can be on time if he so chooses. Kakashi just decided that his meeting with Iruka to discuss what happened with Anko a few weeks ago was slightly more important. Besides, he did send Bull and the other dogs over to help out. So, it's not like she was completely alone.

He ends up ignoring her outburst and shrugs his shoulders. "Well, if you had paid attention to your surroundings, you would have sensed my chakra coming from a mile away." Kakashi's lone eye closes, indicating a smile. Soon, the smile falters and he lifts a box with ease. "I'm sorry, though. Are you okay?"

Anko just grumbles out a "Fine" and takes two boxes, hoisting them onto her shoulders. "Come on. The sooner we get these to your place, the sooner I can unpack and go and eat."

Watching as she takes two boxes, Kakashi's gaze goes to the single box he has. Pursing his lips together, he grabs another two boxes (for a total of three) and makes his way up to his level. Is he that petty to let Anko outdo him? Maybe. He won't admit it though. It's much more efficient to carry more boxes anyways! Gets the job done faster. Yeah, that's his excuse.

"I figured you'd have more… things?" Kakashi enters his apartment and glances around to see Anko already in the extra room with the boxes she brought. Apparently, she already had some things in her room. His brow rose at the scene in front of him. "Did I give you keys to the apartment already? I don't remember."

Anko smirks and stands up, fixing up her coat and walks right past him. "I may have swiped your keys from you yesterday. I knew you'd be late so… I took matters into my own hand. Or rather… I had one of your precious hounds get it for me and I made a copy. Don't worry, I made sure they went back to you in the end. I'm not THAT cruel. Anyways… Come on, let's finish this up quickly."

"Am I supposed to just ignore the fact that you had my key stolen from me? Anko… that's not right."

She rolls her eyes. "We're shinobi, Kakashi. Calm down, okay?"

A groan escapes his lips right then and there. He really doesn't appreciate this. "Anko, you can't just take my keys. Ask next time."

Anko frowns then nods, motioning for him to follow her. "Come on. Just a few more boxes."

xXx

After all the boxes were now in Anko's new room, she glances around her new home. "How long have you lived here? If you don't mind me asking, Kakashi."

Glancing up from his beloved novel, he places his trusty bookmark between the pages and hums softly. Now that is a good question. "Ah… maybe when I was… late teens? Perhaps early twenties. I don't remember."

She sits up in her seat and stares at him, lips pursing in all their plump glory. This causes Kakashi to actually look away from her. She takes note of this but scoots somewhat closer to him. "After your dad died, right?" This earns a simple nod. "You've been alone for so long, Kakashi. That's the worst for someone to dwell in after a big change."

Kakashi finally looks at her, gaze as lazy as ever, but… something pulls at him. He can't quite put a finger on it and Kakashi doesn't like it. Does he actually want to open up? No, don't. Don't do it. This is not some type of therapy session. "What about you? You were alone after you were found on one of the islands in the Land of the Sea?" He can turn this towards her instead.

Anko's eyes narrowed. "First of all, he did not abandon me. It was my choice to stay behind. My choice…" she repeats, mostly to herself. "Secondly, don't turn this against me. I asked YOU the question first, Hatake."

"Aw, come on. We're supposed to be roommates. Friends even. Can't we be on a first name basis?" Kakashi asks, leaning back on the sofa and brow raising slightly.

She groans, a bit excessively. "Fine." A pause. "But first, get comfortable, Kakashi. It's not like you have anywhere to be right now. Take off your flak jacket. Your hitae-ate. Just… look like you actually live here."

'She does have a very good point', Kakashi thinks to himself. He doesn't have a mission for at least a few more days. However, that could change at any given moment, and Tsunade-sama certainly has a knack for calling for HIM when she needs something taken care of quickly and efficiently.

However, Tsunade did tell him that he has her word that he can rest for a few days. So, maybe he can actually relax for once. After a moment, he takes off his flak jacket and headband, but keeps his left eye closed. The gloves come off next and he places everything in the empty chair across from him. His gaze goes to Anko and his brows raise. "Is that better, Anko?"

A grin forms. She nods and leans back comfortably in her seat. "Much. You make it look like you're just crashing while I actually live here." Anko snickers and sighs out, eyes closing as she relaxes.

A nagging thought kept shooting through Kakashi's mind. Was she actually serious about being roommates with benefits? Now might be the best time to ask. But, how should he bring it up? It might seem weird for him to just say something about it out of the blue. 'Damn it, just talk about it!'

And so he does.

"Hey, Anko? What you said a few weeks back.. About, er…" Kami, he can read his books out in broad daylight, but when it comes to actually talking about it, he can't. Why is he like this.

Anko perks up as he talks but her brow twitches when he never gets to the question. "Spit it out, Kakashi."

His brow knit together and he groans. "Fine. A few weeks ago, you mentioned about does being my roommate come with benefits. Were you serious about that? Or were you just pulling my leg? And I'm not joking. I'm very serious about this. It's been on my mind these past few weeks."

The snake kunoichi bursts out into laughter, which causes Kakashi to blush and scowl at her. "This isn't funny, Anko. I'm being serious."

Sobering up slightly, but still giggling but it dies quickly, Anko looks at Kakashi. "Did you think I was really serious about wanting to exchange me living with you for sex? Kakashi, do you really think that low of me? I would never!" She places her hand on her chest and then glares at Kakashi. "I'm not some slut that sleeps around just to get what I want."

Suddenly, Kakashi feels horrible. She's right, though. He should not have thought about this in that way. She's a fellow ninja. A comrade from Konohagakure. Shit… Sighing, Kakashi runs a hand through his hair and slowly looks over to Anko. "I'm… sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I know you're not like that." Kakashi can't help but apologize and hope for the floor beneath only him to collapse and swallow him whole. Why is he like this?

He of all people knows how it feels to be judged for doing something he didn't, or rather, didn't mean to do.

Anko however was not having it at the moment. "Kakashi, I thought you were different. I thought you wouldn't judge people like this. Guess I was wrong. Why would you, like all of the other men in this village, be any different? You have no idea what it's like. You have no idea what it's like to be cat-called or have men thinking that you want sex just because of the way you dress." She stands up abruptly then starts down the hall to her room. "You certainly know how to make a roommate feel welcomed, Kakashi."

"Fuck…" he mumbles then slumps into his seat. Where did the conversation go wrong? How could he have prevented this? With a long sigh, he closes his eyes and covers his face with his hands. He'll have to prove to her that he is different. Not now, but he certainly will do it sooner or later. Perhaps sooner is better than later, though.

"Way to make a good impression on your roommate, Hatake." Standing up, he decides to leave the apartment for some fresh air. And maybe a few drinks. Yeah, a few drinks sound good at the moment. Plus, it would be a good idea to leave Anko alone for a bit, give her some space.

Kami, what he would do for a mission now.

Exiting the building, he heads to the nearest bar to drink away the events that just unfolded.


	3. Tension in the Air

Another few weeks had passed Kakashi by in a flash. He had still managed to keep to himself and left Anko alone. The only time they actually acknowledged one another is in the mornings when they're both trying to grab coffee and a bit of breakfast. However, the two of them just nodded a hello and stayed completely quiet.

Easy to say, this silence was actually starting to drive Kakashi insane.

He thought he would be okay with this. Kakashi does remember a time when he was alone and enjoyed the quiet. But now… it's deafening, especially since he knows that he has a roommate.

He should probably talk to someone about how to fix this. Kakashi has already bothered Iruka enough with his situation. Maybe he should talk to Asuma? Maybe even Kurenai since she actually lived with Anko, for who knows how long. Yeah that seems like a good idea. Hopefully she's not too busy.

Changing the direction of his route, Kakashi hums softly then off to try and find Kurenai.

xXx

Kakashi hadn't intended of staying long. But Kurenai insisted seeing as she was making dinner for herself and Asuma anyways. So, he stays sitting at the low table, humming gently as he glances around to see photos of Kurenai's team, herself and Asuma, and even herself and Anko. He smiles gently at that and tries to hold back a pleased sigh.

Kami, Anko's very photogenic.

Kurenai catches him staring at the photos and she hums to get his attention. "You know, Kakashi, Anko talks about you."

He jerks his head over in her direction, eyes wide. Anko talks about him? Wait… He better get a hold of himself. "Oh does she now? Why am I a topic of interest between the two of you?"

She lowers the heat on the stove and turns to actually face him. "You're a real piece of work, you know that? Idiot… You really should just apologize to her."

Ducking his head to avert those red eyes of hers, Kakashi sighs and rubs the back of his neck. "I did. She wasn't having it. Actually, I'm surprised she hasn't moved out because of that. We haven't even spoken at all since the argument."

Then came a new voice from the door. "That's because you're pigheaded and kind of a dick, Kakashi."

He shrinks back at the voice, knowing exactly who it belongs to. "Anko," he mumbles. His gaze then goes to Kurenai almost as if he's mentally asking, 'Why is she here?'

Kurenai catches his gaze and her brows knit together. She glares at him with her stern red eyes.

He knows exactly what she's trying to tell him, so he backs off and shuts up. Kakashi turns away from Kurenai and ends up face to face to Anko who's now sitting across from him at the table. He blinks a few times and tries to look away, but he just can't. Even with them not talking to one another, he's drawn into those precious eyes of hers. Eyes that can kill a man.

Kakashi knows he has to be careful. She probably has a hundred ways to kill him and he'd rather not find out. Contrary to popular belief, he kind of does like living.

And, almost as if she has the ability to read his mind, she starts talking, "I'm not going to kill you or anything, Kakashi. I'm way past what happened a few weeks ago. Now, how about you be a big boy and just move on like I did, mm? Or are you going to be like your usual self and cling to the bad and never move on?"

Okay, that stung. Kakashi crosses his arms and looks directly at Anko now. "I can move on from things. I've moved on from each of my students leaving me to train with others."

Anko's brow rose at that. "Mhm, sure. Is that why I always catch you staring at the photo of the four of you? If that's the new moving on, then you're doing a splendid job. Admit it, you miss those little maggots. You felt like you had a new purpose in life with them, didn't you?"

He looks away, tenses, then relaxes a bit. She's right. Kakashi does miss Naruto, Sakura, and even Sasuke. With a sigh, Kakashi taps at his hitae-ate then nods to what Anko had said. "I wasn't even a good sensei, regardless. I was just getting by by doing the bare minimum. In the beginning, it almost felt like a hassle. But towards the end, I was starting to like them."

"And the truth comes out," Anko smirks slightly. "Was that so hard to admit? Ah, also, don't the sensei usually like their students in the beginning?"

"When your students actually listen to what you say and don't argue with one another, sure." Kakashi smiles to himself under his mask though. Naruto, Sakura… Sasuke, they had all grown on him. Would he openly admit that? No. No, he wouldn't. "What about you, Anko? Ever thought about taking a few Genin under your wing and teach them your ways?"

She laughs then shakes her head. "Kami, no. I don't see myself with students at all. Or kids for that matter."

Now that caught Kakashi off guard. Anko doesn't want kids at all? Interesting. He'll have to ask her about that later, if given the chance. Truth be told, Kakashi actually does want kids. Kakashi ends up going deeper down the rabbit hole with this trail of thinking.

Does he even consider his team his children? In a weird way, he kind of does. Despite only knowing them for a short time, he has grown to care about them. Then again, how does one actually care about a small group of pre-teens in a short time period? They did grow on him in the end and he does not mind in the least bit.

Realizing that he's been quiet this whole time and lost in his own thoughts, Kakashi coughs and adjusts his seating. "Not sure what I see in my future. Kids would be nice, but then, I do… well, did have my group of youngsters. They ended up leaving the nest earlier than expected." He shrugs then hums, gazing lazily at Anko.

"Huh, never thought of you having kids, Kakashi. Thought you'd be too involved with yourself to actually think of other human beings."

Before Kakashi can reply back to Anko, Asuma walks in and apologizes for how late he was. With a quick peck on Kurenai's cheek, he then moves on over to where Anko and Kakashi was and sits on a free side of the table. Glancing between the two shinobi, he was able to sense just how tense the air feels. "Uh, did I miss something?" He knows something happened between the both of them a few weeks back, but have they not resolved it?

Kurenai rolls her eyes and brings over the dinner for Asuma, Kakashi, and Anko. "You need to clear the air between you both. It's not good for roommates to be this tense." Placing the bowls in front of each person, she then takes a seat across from Asuma and looks to the quarreling party. "Everyone in the village can sense the tension between you both."

Anko sits up straighter and crosses her arms. "If Kakashi is willing to apologize then so am I."

He groans. "I did apologize though." Kakashi looks over to Kurenai and she's glaring at him. With a wide eye, he slowly looks back to Anko and sighs, "Anko, I'm sorry. What I said, I didn't mean anything by it. I was not serious about it at all."

Humming gently, she nods to his apology and leans onto the table, smiling smugly. "I accept your apology. I'm sorry for… well, blowing it up out of proportion as well. I should have just accepted your first apology in the beginning. Would have saved us loads of awkward moments at home."

Now that the apology was taken care of, Kurenai smiles to all three of her closest friends. "Good! Now that that's taken care of, let's eat!"

xXx

Dinner was uneventful. There was chit chat among the group of four and things seemed to have gotten better between Kakashi and Anko for the time being. He had even gotten her to laugh, which was a major plus in his book. Vice versa happened to him as well.

Overall, it was amazing.

Having left and made their way to the apartment, Kakashi and Anko respected the silence between them. He stood on her left side so he can view her easily. There was a soft smile on her features and it made him feel good that the evening, and perhaps even he, was the cause of it.

Once they reached the door, he pauses then looks over to Anko and she gives him a raised brow. "Is something wrong, Kakashi? Don't tell me you lost your keys?"

He shakes his head then scratches the back of his head. "No, no. Nothing wrong. I just… it's a beautiful night. Why don't we relax and enjoy the cool evening and stars on the rooftop?" Kakashi just really did not want the evening to end.

Anko laughs and nods. "I'd like that actually. Plus, it was getting hot at Kurenai's place. I swear they were waiting for us to leave so they can fuck. I mean, did you see the way Asuma was staring at her? Kami, they're like teenagers!"

Returning the laugh, he nods and goes towards the stairs that lead up to the roof. "As soon as Asuma stared at me, I knew our time was up. At least we left while we still had the chance," he adds on and gives her an eye smile.

Sitting on the ledge with their legs dangling, they stared at the stars, pointing out constellations once they took notice.

There was laughter between them and even comfortable silence. At least, it was like that until Kakashi glances over to Anko and has his exposed eye gaze drift down to her lips. They looked incredibly soft.

"Hey, don't stare. It's rude, Hatake," she says and breaks him from his thoughts. All she can do though is smile and stare right back at him since he still has not looked away.

Then, a shift in the air happened. They both start leaning in towards one another. Being just inches away, they stopped right before kissing. Anko's caramel eyes stare into Kakashi's charcoal colored ones.

Kakashi swears he can hear his and even her heartbeat. He swallows a lump in his throat and tries to go in the rest of the way. It's time for the kiss, right? Right.

That is, until Anko stops him, placing her hand on the lower part of his masked face. Shaking her head, she continues smiling though. "No, we're not doing this now, Kakashi. We literally just saved our friendship at Kurenai's. It's not… It's not time for a kiss or anything. We're friends." Before anything else can be said, Anko stands up and heads back to their joint apartment.

His gaze follows her and he frowns deeply. What did he do wrong? Did she not want the kiss or was it just too soon? Whatever it was, he knows one thing… His crush on her is certainly growing more and more.


	4. Journey to the Land of Bean Jam

Things carried on as normal as one would expect after trying to kiss their roommate. At least, it seemed normal to Kakashi as he mused about it to himself while sitting at Yakiniku Q waiting for Gai to arrive. It's weird for him to actually arrive first at some place before the other. And even then, Kakashi was technically an hour late.

Sitting in one of the booths, he reads Icha Icha Baiorensu and hums patiently as he waits. But, in his peripheral vision, Kakashi notices a familiar head of pink hair, and he knows exactly who it belongs to.

"Sakura!" he calls out then realizes that she's actually reading something. Was it a letter?

Hearing her name, she looks up and over to the source and beams at the sight of her former sensei. "Kakashi-sensei!" Walking towards him, she joins him at the table and continues smiling. "So, I heard you have a new girlfriend, Kakashi-sensei," she replies with a smirk. Seeing his eye widen almost confirmed her suspicions. "You do have one! Ino owes me two hundred ryō."

Kakashi immediately shakes his head and closes his book, placing it onto the table. He's obviously flustered now. "Sakura, I do not have a girlfriend. Wh-What makes you say that?" Shit, did he just stutter? Calm down, Kakashi, he tells himself. "I don't have a girlfriend, Sakura."

Sakura continues to smirk at him. Her head is now rest on her hand, her eyes narrowing. "Mhm, whatever you say, Kakashi-sensei. The village knows something's up between you and Anko-sensei. You don't have to be afraid to admit it, ya know."

With a huff, he crosses his arms and his gaze drifts down to the piece of paper with… extremely messy kanji scratched onto it. Who the hell wrote that? "Well, about you? Have a secret admirer? Who's the letter from?"

Now it's Sakura's time to shine with a blush as she grabs the paper and puts it out of Kakashi's sight. "W-Well, it's from… um.." her voice goes quiet as she mumbles out the name.

Even with his good hearing, he couldn't make out what she said. "Who?"

"A certain knucklehead… We may have been writing letters to one another," she says just as quietly, but Kakashi was able to make out what she said.

And he knows exactly who she's talking about. Huh, so they've been writing to one another. How interesting. He won't delve further into that. But, if something were to form from this, Kakashi would not be surprised in the least bit.

In fact, he would be so happy with how far the both of them have progressed. He's a proud sensei. Just as he comes back, he realizes that Sakura has been talking to him.

"Hey, Earth to Kakashi-sensei! You zoning out there? Come on, you gotta at least tell me about her! Do you like her? Do you like /anyone/? Because I've also seen you getting cozy with Gai-sensei… Hey, I don't judge. The heart wants what it wants, right?"

A blush appears on Kakashi's features and he's very thankful for his mask right then and there. "First off, I am not getting cozy with Gai. He's a good friend of mine. We've known each other for years. And there's nothing wrong with having a close friendship between two guys." He can hear Sakura roll her eyes at that. Just ignore it. "And well… Anko and I are Konoha shinobi first and foremost. Even if something was happening between us, it's none of your business, young lady. What if I asked you if anything was happening between you and Naruto?" There's the temper of hers. Ignore that too. "See? It doesn't feel right, does it? Now you know how it feels." Leaning back into his chair, he grins under his mask as Sakura's blush grows even more.

Standing up, she slams her hands on the table. "If something does happen, we'll be the first to find out, Sensei! I swear it!" And with that, she leaves just as Gai enters the restaurant and heads over to Kakashi.

"What's that all about, Kakashi?"

Sighing, he picks his book back up and opens it to the page he left off at. "Just destroying a girl's warped sense of reality. She really thinks she'd be the first to find out if anything happens between Anko and myself." He flips the page. "As if. Kurenai would be the first to find out. And I have a feeling, somehow you will too." Kakashi adds on as he glances up to Gai as he sits down.

Gai gives him a thumbs up. "Don't you know it, my rival! But, the young Sakura does prove a good point… Is something happening between you both? I've heard through the grapevine that you actually tried to kiss her? Very youth of you! I know for a fact that love will blossom between you! Just have faith!"

Kakashi narrows his eye at Gai. Great, now he has to deal with Gai about this too. It's bad enough that Sakura and Ino knows. If Gai knows, who else in the village knows as well? It makes him incredibly anxious. Why does this have to happen to him?

"I'm not holding my breath, Gai. Besides, Anko even said that she just wants to be friends. I have to support her. I can't force her to like me back or anything. .. Wait, why am I talking about this to you?"

With a proud smile, Gai just relaxes in his seat. "Kakashi, my rival, you have always been able to open up to me. Even if you tried to fight it, you ended up talking to me about anything for years. You confide in me, buddy."

That's very true. Despite his rough history with opening up to people, Gai has always been there for him regardless of what was going on. Kakashi smiles under his mask. Closing his book, he puts it away and leans forward towards Gai. "So, why exactly did you want to meet me here at Yakiniku? Is this going to be another eating challenge? Remember how you lost last time? You sure you want to relive that?"

"I'm definitely sure, because this time, I'll actually win!" Gai replies, almost confident in his words. He loves the challenges.

So, Kakashi might as well humor him with a barbeque eating contest.

xXx

"I… I lost. You have beaten me again, Kakashi. You truly are one mighty eater."

Patting his belly, Kakashi smiles proudly under his mask. "I've never once lost an eating challenge. You should know this given how many times we have actually competed, Gai." He releases a content sigh then stands up from his seat. "Well, I should probably get going. I have a mission I have to prepare for, and Tsunade-sama would kill me if she found me goofing off instead of getting ready. So… I'll see you in a few weeks time."

Gai raises a brow. "Is it a solo mission or do you have someone going with you?"

Kakashi glances away then looks back to Gai and smiles faintly. "It turns out, I'm on the mission with Anko."

Now Gai's brows are both raised. And now there's a smirk on his face. Why is Gai looking at him like that? "Do you anything about the mission parameters? Like, what will you two be doing together? All alone?"

"Okay, you're thinking way too much into this, Gai. It's just a mission. Nothing more."

"So, you know nothing at the moment."

"... I know nothing at the moment."

The smirk on Gai's face grows. "Kakashi, don't screw it up. I know that you've had a crush on her since we were younger. If you play this right, maybe you'll be closer to her. Be youthful!"

Kakashi groans and runs a hand down his face. "Goodbye, Gai," he says then finally takes his leave, leaving his rival in the restaurant to head home.

While he walks he runs into Anko. He perks up a bit then waves when they make eye contact. "Yo, Anko. How are you this fine afternoon? Ready for the mission?"

Anko's face scrunches up slightly. "I should be asking you that question, Hatake. I saw you and Gai stuffing your faces at Yakiniku. You should have been getting ready instead of goofing off! We're supposed to meet Tsunade sometime today anyways for the briefing, you numbnut."

Feigning offense, Kakashi places his hand on his chest and gasps softly. "Anko, I would never goof around. I'm already half packed up for our… how long was it supposed to be again?"

"We'll find out when we actually see Tsunade, Kakashi."

"Right. Well, what's stopping us from seeing her now? We're both free right now. I'm sure she'd rather give us a briefing now rather than wait til later on." Kakashi adds on and pockets his hands as he awaits for her answer.

And he does have a point. If they had their briefing now, they'd actually know how long to pack for. With a sigh, she motions him to follow. "Come on then. Might as well get this over and done with. If she yells at us, it's your fault. Got it?"

He nods and gives her an eye smile. "I'll take full responsibility for this one, Anko. Don't worry."

"Good!" she replies back and walks off without even waiting for Kakashi to follow her, knowing full well that he'll catch up. And just as she pulls a dango from a package in her pocket, Kakashi's walking right next to her with that stupid red book of his in hand. Groaning, Anko chomps down on a dango ball and glances upward towards him. "Do you ever read anything else other than those perverted novels?"

Looking over with his right eye, Kakashi ends up chuckling then shaking his head. "Nothing has ever held my attention longer than these have. I'll read something else if it ever matches up to how amazing these are."

Her eyes narrow slightly. "I seem to remember you reading a book whenever we were younger. I think it was called 'How a Shinobi Should Die' or some garbage like that. Your reading material needs work."

"Don't nitpick my reading choices. I'm a grown man, Anko. And just because I really like the Icha Icha series, it doesn't mean I'm a pervert. I read it for the plot anyways. It is an amazing love story after all."

"Oh, so you're a complete and utter sap? Didn't know that. Sorry, didn't mean to offend you, Kakashi. I feel bad for any future girlfriend, or boyfriend, you'll have in the future. You'll be mushy all over them, won't you?"

Kakashi huffs and puts the book back into his hip pouch. "For the record, I'm not into guys. I'm into ladies, not that there's anything wrong with being into guys-" he pauses then coughs into his fist. "Anyways… I'm not mushy at all. The books are just good, that's all. Don't judge a book by it's cover, right?"

Shifting her head from left to right, she has to agree with him about the book cover thing. Maybe she'll give the so called porn with plot books a chance sometime.

The rest of the short trek to the Hokage building was relatively quiet between the two shinobi. At least it was comfortable silence this time around. So, Kakashi was able to revel in it just a bit, smiling gently to himself. He liked moments like this when you can just walk next to someone without having the need to actually converse. It definitely was comfortable.

Anko took the initiative and knocked on door to Tsunade's office. They both waited patiently for the cue to walk in. And once they heard it, they entered the room and bowed out of respect for their leader. "Tsunade-sama, you have a mission for us?" Anko and Kakashi said in unison.

Tsunade glances up from the clipboard she had on her desk and raises a brow. "I wasn't expecting you both for a few more hours. Well, regardless, your mission briefing is ready." Sliding over to one side of her desk, she opens the drawer and pulls out a blue scroll and holds it out for one of them to take it, which Kakashi did.

Opening it up, he skims over the info for the mission at hand and his brows knit together. "This mission can't be serious, can it, Tsunade-sama?"

Resting her chin on her hands, she nods to his question. "It's very serious. In An no Kuni, or rather, The Land of Bean Jam, there's a rather prominent diplomat who's new to the scene. In fact, he's actually trying to do a very important deal that will help the land he's in charge of prosper and grow even more. Because of this, he and his wife have been threatened on numerous occasions. They wanted us specifically to help since…" Tsunade stops to look to both Anko and Kakashi then pulls out two photos that look eerily like them. "You two look the most similar to the diplomat and his wife. So, you two must play the part of the married couple and get this deal done while maintaining your disguise. If anyone tries to make a hit on you both, you either take care of it quickly, or, let your body guards take them out for you, depending on the threat level. Got it?"

Anko scrunches up her nose and takes the scroll from Kakashi, reading the parameters herself and groaning. "So, I have to pretend to be married to this pervert? Tsunade-sama, why aren't we on bodyguard duty instead? Wouldn't that be much easier?"

Sighing then leaning back in her chair, Tsunade shakes her head. "I won't hear it. This is what they wanted. They'd rather let two capable shinobi who can take care of themselves if a high level threat decides to actual go through with the attack on them. Besides, I'd figure this mission wouldn't be too much trouble for you both seeing how close you've gotten, am I wrong?"

The two shinobi tried to state their sides of how wrong Tsunade was, but she just raises a hand. "I don't want to hear it. Now, go get ready. Ah, here, take the photos of the diplomat and his wife. You'll need to make sure you hide anything that makes the two of you obviously different. Like, Anko, you have to hide your Curse Mark and Kakashi must hide his scar, Sharingan, and… anything else he as under his mask." This earned a mumble from Anko and Kakashi. "Now, go get ready. You're leaving first thing in the morning."

"Yes, m'am," they replied together and took their leave.

xXx

When they entered their apartment, Anko and Kakashi took their respective seats and decided to actually read the scroll that contained their mission.

"So, we're going to be… Namahada Hitatsu and Miku? They're diplomats looking to extend the resources and help make An no Kuni prosper more…? Okay, why would anyone want to attack them for this? Unless they're actually after the wealth that they have? They did get their money from… What was it again?"

Kakashi sits back and away from the scroll and hums softly as he tries to remember what Tsunade had told them. "I believe it was inherited. Hitatsu comes from a rich family from Tsume no Kuni. He moved out here to try and make it on his own. But, having his inheritance helped him greatly as well."

Anko sits cross-legged and leans back as well. "So, we're dealing with rich snobs? How fun. I bet we shouldn't ruin their reputation either."

"Anko, you know for a fact that we shouldn't do that. Where's your professionalism? I thought you always took missions seriously?"

"Pfft, I always do, but this is a joke. There's no way this is real," Anko replies much to Kakashi's disgust.

He never knew her to be so against a mission. She would always take every mission with the utmost care. For her to not like this mission, it has to be about the fake marriage and the fact that it isn't exactly a secret that Kakashi likes her. He did try to kiss her a few weeks ago, much to his displeasure.

"Hey, let's just pack up and we'll leave in the morning, okay? Maybe we'll come up with some kind of plan on the way to An no Kuni. I mean, we'll just have to act couple-y in public, right? We don't have to do it indoors or anything. They won't have to know a thing," Kakashi adds on.

She sighs and crosses her arms. "Public acting also means kissing and stuff, Kakashi. And us actually being seen together. We're… We're not supposed to be like that. We're just friends. I'll be damned if this mission ruins that."

Kakashi ends up frowning at that. "Why the sudden interest in us staying friends, Anko? You never really cared about it before."

"Because we're roommates, that's why. It wouldn't do me any good if I hated or couldn't be around you, would it?"

"No, I suppose you're right. Regardless, this is our mission and we have to get it done. No matter what. Again, we just have to act like a married couple in public. It'll be a piece of cake."

Anko grumbles and gets up to go to her room and pack up. "You better be right, Kakashi."

"I hope I am too," he says to himself when he's sure she's out of earshot.


	5. Hitatsu and Miku, the Diplomats

The rest of the night, Kakashi didn't exactly get much sleep. So, instead of doing the smart thing and just laying in bed, he ends up making sure he has everything for the mission that lies ahead. He even studies the photo Tsunade had given him earlier that day. The similarities between them is nearly uncanny. Hitatsu even had a freakin' mole by his mouth! The only difference were obviously the eye color, the Hitatsu's were a blue. That could be corrected with contact lenses, thankfully.

The part that Kakashi did not like was the fact that his face was going to be exposed. Even if he was undercover, there was still the issue that Anko, the diplomat, his wife, and a few others will know what he looks like under the mask. Sure, he could use a transformation jutsu, but he didn't want to carelessly use his chakra. So, a disguise was the best way to go. Kakashi sighs then lays back in bed, his hand holding the picture above his face so he can still study it.

What else would need to be done?

Well, whatever it was, it could wait until the morning when they actually get to An no Kuni. For now, Kakashi actually needs to try and get some sleep. Even some is better than none, he thinks to himself as he places the photo on his drawer and rolls over to go to bed.

That is, he would have gone to sleep if someone was not banging on his bedroom door. Groaning, he stands up and heads on over, adjusting his mask, and throws the door open to see Anko standing on the other side with a grin on her face.

"Anko, it's three in the morning. What are you doing awake?" He tries not to sound irritated, but he can't help but let a bit of venom out with his words. "We have an important trip to make in the morning, go back to sleep."

Anko scrunches up her face and crosses her arms, glaring up at him. "First off, we're actually supposed to leave now, sleepy head. I figured you were awake since your light was on, Kakashi. Secondly, don't you dare tell me what to do."

Kakashi sighs then realizes that the time was correct for them to actually leave their apartment and head to An no Kuni. Damn it, he should have just slept instead of staring at the picture and thinking of what he has to do to make himself look like Hitatsu. With a sigh, he dropped his gaze then nods. "Fine, fine... I'll get shower, change, then we'll go. Go… make yourself some breakfast or something if you're already ready."

She grins cheekily then gives him a salute. "Yes, sir."

However, that causes him to pause. "I thought you didn't want to be told what to do?"

"Well, I was going to do it anyway so… Just go get ready!"

Chuckling to himself, he shakes his head then closes the door to grab a fresh change of plain civilian clothes. Since they were going to a relatively new area, it wouldn't do him much good to actually look like a ninja. The country itself doesn't seem to have any ninja, at least that's what the reports say.

Pausing, he places the civilian clothes down and reaches for his usual shinobi gear. Better to be safe than sorry, and so he heads to shower.

Soon, the mission would begin.

xXx

The trip over was painfully boring and uneventful. It was four days of pestering one another, reading, regular chatter, and just silence.

So, when they reached An no Kuni, Kakashi released a sigh. Finally, he thinks as they reached the border. This was where they were going to meet Hitatsu, or at least some of his men for pick up. Kakashi opted for sitting on a tree branch while Anko leaned against it.

"So, this place doesn't have any ninja, eh? Why not ask help from the Samurai? Hell, even Iwagakure or Sunagakure could have helped them. Why us?"

Kakashi feels as if he's had this conversation with her before. Turning a page in his book, he hums gently. "Anko, it was in the mission briefing. They want shinobi that looked like Hitatsu and his wife. Maybe they did their research first and saw us and decided we were the perfect fit. Anyways, stop complaining about it. I remember hearing you were getting antsy since you haven't had a mission in a while."

She pouts and looks up at him. "Don't pretend that you actually care that I have a mission. Get down here, our ride's here."

Looking out over the horizon, he sees what looks like a carriage sent to pick them up. Huh, fancy. Hopping down, he pockets his book and they both decide to meet the carriage half way. Much to their surprise, as the carriage pulled up, a very ecstatic man came out and waved at them both.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry for having you both come out all this way! But you see, I really am in need of both of your help!" He stops then laughs nervously. "Pardon me! Where are my manners. I'm Namahada Hitatsu. And you must be the shinobi I've hired, yes?"

Anko takes the lead on the greeting, without Kakashi's prompting. This colored impressed him loads considering how much she complaining earlier.

"Hello, Namahada-sama," she starts with a bow. "Yes, we're shinobi from Konohagakure. I'm Mitarashi Anko, and this is my partner for the mission, Hatake Kakashi."

Hitatsu perks up immediately at the mention of Kakashi. "Oh, I've definitely heard of you! You're famous! Now I know for a fact that the money I put into this will not go in vain!"

Kakashi chuckles a bit then rubs at the back of his head. "I try to not let fame get the better of me or anything. I just take care of the mission laid out and try to get it done to the best of my ability."

"Oh nonsense, it's okay to bask in some of the fame, Kakashi! Anyways, come come! Let's go to my place and get things squared away such as sleeping arrangements and how you both will need to act."

Raising a brow, Anko grows a bit irritated at how this so called diplomat was acting with Kakashi. Has he really not heard about her? She is the student of a Sannin! Okay, that bit she wasn't exactly proud of anymore. But still, she left him on her own accord and survived his curse mark! Then again, that wasn't exactly public knowledge. In the end, she just sits there, pretending that nothing was getting to her, when it kind of did. But, she bit her tongue. This mission could end up with An no Kuni being affiliated with Konoha once it's all over. Think about the future.

Entering the carriage, Kakashi and Anko sat on one side while Hitatsu sat on the other.

"We already know the basis of the mission, Namahada-sama. We're supposed to be your wife, Miku, and you. We were chosen because we look the most similar to you both," Kakashi states, trying to get things back onto the professional track. "Although, if we're trying to act like you both, what are you and your wife going to do, if you don't me asking."

Hitatsu claps his hands and grins slightly. "Oh, we're going to be civilian folk and visit the neighboring country while you take of everything here!"

Kakashi glances over to Anko and he could tell that she was fighting to keep her composure. "Namahada-sama," Kakashi says as he places a hand on Anko's shoulder to keep her grounded, "what about this deal that's supposed to go through? I thought you needed to handle it?"

He waves them off. "Don't worry about that. It's in the final stages. I just need you both to see it finalized. See, the problem with it being finalized, a couple of rogue shinobi groups don't want the land to prosper. If the land gets more money, then they don't need to charge their cities for protection, even though it's them also causing the trouble. I heard, they even have Jonin level shinobi, just like you. They'll do anything to make sure it doesn't go through. We've gotten letters as well." Hitatsu takes one out and hands it to Anko. "There's more than just the menacing letters. We've gotten verbal threats from their low level lackies too."

Anko reads the letter and she frowns. "So, this is very serious… This is your very way of life at stake." She glances over to Kakashi and grimaces.

Kakashi gives her a nod in understanding then looks back to Hitatsu. "We'll do our very best, Namahada-sama. But, I do suggest that you stay close to An no Kuni. If you're close enough, we should be able to slip away in case you or Miku require any aid."

"I understand, don't worry, Kakashi." He smiles and gives them both a nod.

Some time went by and Namahada sits up in his seat and motions them to look outside at the little village he's made his home. "Here it is! Welcome to Inaho-mura!"

They both glanced outside as well and see the quaint village. It doesn't seem like the type of home that someone as rich as Namahada would go for, but then again, the two shinobi really don't know much about him. Maybe he's more than meets the eye.

"It's cute," Anko chimes in and relaxes back into her seat and waits for them to actually pull into the village. "What's our story? Does anyone know that shinobi are coming to aid you? Or is that why we're in the carriage so we're not seen?"

Kakashi nods before Namahada could even answer. "It ruins the purpose of us being undercover if we were to appear then just vanish in the same day. Us using the carriage to maneuver is a splendid idea."

"If you say so," Anko says then goes quiet as she looks through the darkened windows as the village buildings pass by.

Soon enough, they were at his estate at the edge of the village. They all got out quickly and headed inside before anyone in the village saw. Then again, they were so far out near the edge, hardly anyone lived here. Them being spotted would not be a problem. At least, for the moment.

Entering the villa, the small group was greeted with who has to be Miku. She bows at the presence of their pretenders and protectors. "It's an honor to meet the both of you. I'm Namahada Miku. I hope you both enjoy your stay here," she says with a soft smile, eyes closing as well. "The meeting between the four of us will happen after dinner. I'll show you to the rooms you'll be using for the duration of your stay here."

Hitatsu interjects with, "We only have one guest room. And since we're not leaving on our trip til tomorrow, you both will have to stay in the same room. Look at it this way, you'll get a head start on pretending to be us!" He laughs. "Once we live, it's up to you on if you want to continue sharing a room or sleeping in the two rooms here."

Kakashi looks over to Anko and shrugs. "I don't exactly mind what we do. If Anko's fine with sharing a living space with me, I'm sure we'll be fine with sharing a room, right?"

Anko glares at Kakashi. "Don't speak for me. We'll see how tonight goes, Kakashi. If you're nice enough, I'll consider still sharing a room once Hitatsu and Miku are gone."

He can't help but smile under his mask just then. And just as he was about to reply, Hitatsu interrupted his train of thought.

"Hey, Kakashi? I've realized that we've hired you since you apparently look like me, but… can you actually remove your mask so I can see?"

This made Anko perk up immediately since she too was curious what he hid under that elusive mask of his. "Yeah, Kakashi. Why don't you remove your mask and let our beloved patrons see that lovely face of yours?"

Kakashi shifts his gaze to look at Anko, eyes narrowing slightly. She obviously wants to see what his face looks like as well. However, she now has a pretty good idea thanks to Hitatsu's face. But, in the end, he supposes their benefactor does have a right to know. So, taking in a deep breath, Kakashi places a finger at the top of his mask right where his brow meets his nose. "Are you sure? I mean, can't we let the mystery last a little longer?"

"Off with it, man!" Anko spat out.

"Fine, fine! Damn it…" Now he definitely has no choice. After a beat, he lowers the mask, but keeps his hitae-ate in place to hide the Sharingan. "There, happy now?" And that was directed at Anko.

She smiles gleefully. "So, that's how you look. Not bad, Hatake. Not bad. I can see why you hide that handsome mug now. All of the ladies back at home would never leave you alone. Hell, I bet some guys wouldn't leave you alone either."

With a grumble, he ignores her, but can't help but realize that his heart quickens at the fact that Anko thinks he's handsome. Nope, calm down, Hatake. This is serious business time. "You would have seen my face eventually, Anko, I mean, I have to be maskless for this mission anyways…" he mumbles out and crosses his arms, looking away from Anko and returning his gaze to Hitatsu.

And it seems like Hitatsu is smiling broadly at him, hands going to touch Kakashi's arm. "It's like looking in a mirror! Of course, I'm a bit softer than you are! You're slightly thinner, but that's okay! You'll pass with flying colors! Anko, you too! All you need is a bit of makeup and you'll be the spitting image of Miku!"

He's very happy about this, Kakashi thinks and crinkles his nose without the comfort of his mask. Well, he might as well not put it back up since he'll have to get used to being without it for a few days until the deal is done for the expansion of An no Kuni. He can do this, he knows it.

xXx

After depositing their belongings into their room, dinner came and went as well. The group of four chatted about the upcoming deal, how life in Konoha works and the prospect of being allies. This topic seemed to interest Hitatsu more than anything else.

"Well, Konoha is one of the strongest Shinobi nations. If all goes well, I definitely would want this area to grow and even trade with your village. And after that, trade with other villages as well."

Kakashi, who takes a sip of his water, nods at the idea. "It would be a good idea to form relationships with others closer to you as well. In case us in Konoha cannot reach you here in time. Especially with closer villages like Suna or Iwa. And since An no Kuni doesn't have a ninja village, you can even form relations with Tetsu no Kuni. The Samurai are technically closer if you ever need help, however, if shinobi are involved, they'll probably maintain their neutral actions and not interfere."

Hitatsu took these words to heart and nod. "I just want to maintain neutrality as well. But, trading is the best thing to garner relations. I'll keep an open mind to everything as it comes to fruition."

Nodding once again, Kakashi places his cup down and relaxes a bit more. He still feels self conscious without his mask, but at least he's at ease now. "I'm sure everything will work out in the end. Now, about what we will be doing…"

Anko snickers. "So behind. Miku and I are already talking about that! Get with the program, Hatake!" Miku ends up joining in her snickering fit. "Stop talking about political mumbo jumbo and start talking to him and get a read of how he works! His speech patterns! You'll definitely have to amp up the giddiness you severely lack."

Okay, that was a low blow and Kakashi actually rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. It is true though. Hitatsu is very… outgoing. Not to say that Kakashi isn't, but the man he has to pretend to be is on a whole other level. He definitely has a lot to work on in only a day.

But he can do it.

"Anko's right, my boy," Hitatsu started then rubbed at his chin. "Okay, time to practice!"

"Practice… right."

After a few trials and errors, Kakashi finally managed to get Hitatsu's mannerisms down. He even got a few of his works thanks to copying them with the Sharingan. After a moment, Kakashi looks to Anko and tries his best rendition.

"Oh, Miku-chan! Once this is all over and done with, I promise you I will treat you to a proper vacation!" Kakashi even had done the hand clap that Hitatsu normally does when he's excited. Kami, this was somewhat embarrassing. What can he do though since the mission calls for it?

Anko tries to hold back laughter. Biting her bottom lip, she tries to sober up and try her rendition of Miku. Coughing into her fist, she changes character immediately. Smiling gently, she bows her head, speaking with it still lowered. Her voice was also as soft as Miku's. "Hitatsu, my dearest husband, if you truly want to do that, I will gladly accept the offer. I just want us to be out of harm's way and safe." Raising her head, she breaks character and immediately gives them all a victory sign and a huge grin. "See? Easy!"

That soft tone to her voice… Kakashi had no idea she had it in her. Smiling gently at her, he nods. "You're right, it does seem pretty easy. And if no one attacks us, it'll be a walk in the park."

"I was hoping for SOME type of action. We should stay on guard at all times. Just in case," she replies with a thoughtful hum.

Of course, Kakashi knew this and he nods once more. "If a fight does occur we can take care of ourselves. It is the mission after all." He smiles gently, which is weird to see since he doesn't have his mask up, or hitae-ate on during dinner for that matter.

Seeing the smile does cause Anko's heart to skip a beat faintly. Okay, what the hell was that? It was just a smile, Kakashi does it all the freakin' time! It shouldn't be any different since his mask isn't in its usual place. Swallowing faintly, she stands up, giving the group a smile and bows her head out of respect. "I'm actually kind of beat, so I think I'll head to bed. We do have an early morning of preparations for us and for your… mini sightseeing vacation. If you'll excuse me…" Then she leaves.

Following her path, Kakashi looks to the others as well. But, instead of just abruptly leaving, he finishes his tea and water then stands up, bowing his head as well. "I'm going to head to bed as well. Thank you for hosting us, Hitatsu-sama. Miku-sama."

"Oh please, Kakashi, you're going to be pretending to be me for a while. We're way past formalities. Hitatsu is just fine."

"Same for me as well, Kakashi," Miku chimes in with a giggle.

"Right," Kakashi states then takes his leave to head to bed as well.

As soon as he reached the room, Anko was sitting cross-legged on the bed, deep in thought. With a raised brow, he unzips his flak jacket and removes his gloves. "Uh, Earth to Anko? You okay in there?"

Blinking a few times, she shifts her gaze to Kakashi and scrunches up her nose. "I was just thinking. Why would rogues want to stop Hitatsu from completing this deal? It would help this land in ways they couldn't even imagine!"

"Probably because they're rogues and terror is their motive. If An no Kuni gets powerful allies, and richer as a result of trade revenue… They can no longer, again, cause terror and wreak havoc."

"It still doesn't make sense. If the land gets richer, couldn't they technically get rich by robbing? I know I shouldn't be thinking that but… There has to be something bigger here… I just can't put my finger on it."

Kakashi takes off his shirt and puts on a tank top to sleep in. After a moment, he glances to his pajama bottoms then quickly goes into the bathroom to change rather than change in front of Anko.

She giggles to herself and lays in bed staring up at the ceiling. "Kakashi, you do realize that we technically shared a tent. Hell, we even share a bathroom at your place. You don't need to leave the room to change, ya know. I've already seen your face, so, it's almost as if I've seen you naked."

A small squeak can heard in the bathroom then a cough. Walking out, he just climbs into bed and narrows his eyes at her. "While that may be true, I still have some dignity regardless, Anko."

"Well, you better get over it quick, Kakashi. We are supposed to be a married couple after all."

Kakashi grumbles and gets under the covers, turning away to face the wall.

Anko ends up giggling again, laying down in bed and facing the opposite direction. This will surely be interesting in the long run.


	6. The (New) Married Duo

The next morning came about quickly. Much more quickly than Kakashi and Anko had wanted. However, only one member of this little duo was awake while the other still slept. And the person was none other than Anko.

Waking up, she tries to shift about and realizes that one, she can't actually move, and two, there's something draped across her waist and is wrapped around her. Blinking a few times, she glances down to see a strong arm then turns her head to see Kakashi holding her as he slept. The first thing she wanted to do immediately was wake him up and ask what the hell is going on. However, the she thought about it, the more she realized of how peaceful he looked.

A faint smile appears on her features as she relaxed more against him, eyes closing. Maybe they can sleep in a little longer like this. She'll indulge in whatever this is for just a bit.

Truth be told, Anko had an inkling that Kakashi had some sort of crush on her. She wasn't exactly sure how long it's lasted, but, she has some knowledge of it from the way he looks at her. Even since they were in the academy together, which wasn't that long, Anko just never realized it since he was supposedly the suave and cool Hatake Kakashi, son of the White Fang.

Now that she thinks about it, Kakashi's actually a huge nerd.

Why does everyone see him as a cool guy anyways? He really isn't! Anko scrunches up her face and sighs. People probably wouldn't respect him if they knew he was just a nerd. Maybe people just ignore it? She sighs once again and puts her face into her pillow.

Life's always better for those who are labeled as "cool".

Now, don't go saying that, she tells herself. She knows how much hardship he has gone through in his life. Which is too much for someone of his age. Maybe… just maybe if their friends and herself included had actually tried harder to include him in things.

Mentally scolding herself, she huffs and then freezes up when she feels movement behind her. Glancing back, she sees a pair of mismatched eyes looking widely at her.

"Uh, good morning," she whispers, smiling slightly.

"Morning," Kakashi replies and quickly removes his arm from her. "Sorry about that. I uh, tend to hug a body pillow at home and I must have… yeah."

Mhm, sure he has a body pillow, she mentally tells herself. "We should get up now. We have a busy day, dearest husband," Anko adds on the last bit with a grin thrown over her shoulder.

Seeing that look on her face, Kakashi pursed his lips and immediately got up and headed to the shower. "We definitely have work to do to make sure we actually look like Miku and Hitatsu. Remember what Miku-sama told you?"

Anko sighs softly then nods, sitting up, crosses her legs and rests her elbow on it. "I have to change up my hair and everything. Even make-up too. Gross." She pauses. "Okay, maybe saying makeup's gross is going a bit too far. But, I never wear as much as she does!"

Kakashi chuckles from the bathroom and sticks his head out to look at her, smiling without the mask. "You wear makeup? So that's why I've noticed mascara and some light lipstick on you sometimes." His eyes close and his smile grows even more. "Can I just say that you no matter what you do, you look good to me, Anko." Going back into the bathroom, he closes the door and enters the shower, based on the sound of the water running.

Placing a hand on her cheek, Anko tries hard not to blush at all. She's not known for blushing and she isn't about to start now! Laying back, she releases a soft whine.

Okay, no used thinking about it now! Just have to get up and prepare for a day of seeing the townsfolk and hopefully not get attacked by rogue ninjas! What can possibly go wrong? She mentally cringes at that for a brief moment. Better not think that again, otherwise something WILL go wrong.

Jumping from the bed, she herself heads to the bathroom Kakashi had been in and starts getting ready herself. She ignores the squeak she heard as she uses the bathroom, washes her hands, and start to brush her teeth and hair. "Kakashi, you forget that most of the shinobi in our village are men. It's not like your dick is the first I've seen. So, calm down and just hurry with your shower so I can take mine," Anko says not looking away from the mirror adjacent to the shower stall.

"I wasn't expecting you to actually come in, Anko." he mumbles as he rinses the shampoo from his hair and soap from his body. After a moment, he adds a bit of conditioner to soften his locks since Hitatsu says he does use it. Kakashi wants to look as similar as possible to the diplomat and throw people off their trails.

It has to work.

Once the conditioner is rinsed out, he shuts off the water, grabs a towel and quickly dries himself off. When that's done he wraps the towel around his waist and steps out to find Anko looking right at him. He desperately willed his blush to not show at all. So, after a beat, his brows knit together. "Can I help you?"

Anko just smiles, eyes closing and she shakes her head. "Nope. I mean, we are a married couple after all. I'm just getting used to how my husband looks. That's all. Unless you have a problem with that, husband." A laugh escapes her when she sees Kakashi blush faintly at what she says. "Oh, my Kami, Kakashi, you don't need to blush! You don't need to be all shy in front of someone you consider a friend and a roommate, right?"

Kakashi grumbles slightly and heads to the sink to brush his teeth. He glances over to Anko, receiving another giggle from her and he rolls his eye. "Do you have to keep staring at me like that? I'm sensing creepy vibes."

"Oh whatever. I'm just going to jump into the shower." She then starts to strip right where she stands and ignores Kakashi's squeal as he spits out the toothpaste from his mouth. "Do you have a problem with your wife getting naked in front of you, /Hitatsu/?" Anko smirks as she drops her clothing into a pile and scoots them over to the corner with her foot. Not even waiting for Kakashi to say anything, she waltzes into the shower and hums as she starts it.

With trembling hands, Kakashi holds onto the edge of the sink and he swears quietly to himself. Damn it, she's trying to kill me! She's purposely doing this to rattle me! Taking in a deep breath, he steels himself and continues brushing his teeth, rinsing his mouth, and he leaves the bathroom to finally get dressed and leave the tension he was beginning to feel. He will not let her get to him. Nope, not at all.

Once dressed in what Hitatsu usually wears, Kakashi stares at himself in the mirror. "Hmm…" he mumbles to himself then grabs a bit of makeup he brought with him for disguises. Dabbing some of the liquid onto his finger, he covers the scar over his left eye. It wasn't necessarily his best job, but, the scar is covered to a degree. Hopefully no one gets close enough to actually see it. After that, he grabs his colored lenses and grabs a blue pair, putting them into place.

Blinking a few times, he looks at himself in the mirror and nods at the small transformation.

"I've always wondered how you looked with blue eyes," Anko says from the bathroom door and leans against it, smirking.

"Ah, Anko. I didn't hear you finish. Are you ready to go? Your outfit is laying out for you-"

She walks over and changes right in front of him. Humming softly to herself she drops her towel and gets into her underwear, and black pants. Then comes the kimono-style blue blouse with short sleeves. She tries to tie the sash then realizes that she needs help. Glancing over to Kakashi, who's still trying to fix up his own appearance, she coughs loudly and nods her head for him to come over. "I need help please… Also, doesn't Tsunade-sama wear something like this? Someone tell Miku she needs to update her outfits…"

"Come on, Anko, it's not that similar," Kakashi adds on and walks over to tie the obi in place. "If she had the haori, then I think you'd have to worry."

"Well… I guess you're right. I didn't see any type of haori while I was looking through Miku's wardrobe last night before bed. Shouldn't a diplomat's wife wear something more… formal? Not that I mind though. This is very comfortable." She turns around to face Kakashi once he stops tying the obi. "Wow… you look just like him."

Kakashi chuckles, shaking his head. "I'm trying my best with the coverup for my scar. If it doesn't work out today, I might just a simple transformation just in this area of my face."

"Kakashi, you look fine. Don't sweat it. Okay, give me a few more minutes. Just gotta fix up my hair to look like Miku's. Don't leave without me!" And she bounds towards the bathroom once again to fix herself up a bit more.

xXx

Everything was prepped now. Miku cooed over Anko, praising for the fact that such a beautiful kunoichi is going to play as her. Anko grins proudly at the compliments and looks over to Kakashi who also seemed to be getting them as well. Nodding at that, she coughs and tries to do her best Miku impression.

"Well, you two ought to go now! You have a busy day of travelling and seeing how things are going out there, right?" Anko giggles and hugs Kakashi's arm, just as she's seen Miku done it when they arrived yesterday.

"W-Wow! She sounds so much like me! I can't believe it, Hitatsu! You did such a good job! And Konohagakure is surely proud of having two good shinobi such as you two!" Miku giggles as well then picks up her pack, tilts her head, and smiles brightly.

Kakashi rose a brow. "The resemblance is uncanny…" Looking to Hitatsu, who's looking at him expectantly, he frowns slightly. Now more than ever did he wish to have his mask on so no one can actually tell he's frowning. Or any facial expression for that matter. Knowing what the diplomat wanted, he coughed as well, eyes closing, and he smiles. "You needn't worry about a thing! We'll definitely take care of what's going on! Everything will sail along smoothly. You two enjoy yourselves, got it?"

With a nod, Hitatsu grins cheekily. "That's the way to do it! I knew you had it in you, Kakashi! Now, we'll take our leave! You two, try to stay out of trouble! Think, 'What would Hitatsu and Miku do?' and you'll be fine!"

Waving, the couple bid Kakashi and Anko goodbye and leave the estate. Hitatsu and Miku didn't have to worry about being seen since it was so early in the morning. With a sigh, Kakashi and Anko go back inside and sit on the loveseat. It was a comfortable sofa, but too close for comfort. They both realize they would have to get used to being close like this for the sake of the mission, not that Kakashi minded one bit.

"So, husband of mine, what shall we do now?" Anko finally spoke up after a few beats of silence.

Humming softly, Kakashi shrugs. "At the moment, I do wish I can go back to bed. But… We might as well have breakfast then do our rounds in Inaho-mura, make sure everything is running smoothly. And maybe even try and see if we can find any activity of rogue shinobi in the area."

"Very smart, I knew I married you for a reason, Hitatsu," Anko says nonchalantly, grinning then leans over to kiss his cheek. "Gotta play the part, right, dearest husband?"

Kakashi willed the blush away and relaxed a bit more thinking he'll be alright. Well, two can play at that game, he thinks to himself. "You're right, my lovely wife. Now, let me cook you breakfast," he adds on then leans in and gives her a kiss on the cheek as well. Getting up, he heads into the kitchen, leaving behind a very flustered Anko. Grinning to himself, he can't help but chuckle as he checks out the stocked up fridge and pantry for any kind of breakfast. "Anko, what do you want to eat?" He spots some eggs and rice as well. "How about some tamago kake gohan?"

Anko hums and nods, despite knowing that Kakashi can't see her. "Anything to get some food in me. Now, chop chop, dear husband. Your wife is famished."

With another chuckle, he rolls his eyes and salutes as he takes out rice and eggs. "Yes, m'am."

xXx

After a very delicious breakfast and doing their dishes (to which Anko complained saying that shouldn't a maid or whatever be cleaning these?), Kakashi and Anko decided it was time to make their rounds in the little village. As soon as they stepped outside, Kakashi took Anko's hand. "We have to make this look authentic. You ready?"

Squeezing his hand gently, she nods then looks forward, releasing a stream of air from her nose. "Ready as I'll ever be, Hitatsu. Let's survive this day."

And so, the couple went off towards the village to see the daily life of the locals and to keep an eye out for these rogues that have been a hindrance.

As they walked along the path, Kakashi and Anko took in the sights and realized that this area truly needed the treaty that Hitatsu and Miku were planning. Buildings were run down and some of the people looked like walking skeletons. The citizens were starving.

"Kakashi," Anko whispers, glancing up to him with a deep frown.

He just nods and waves to a child that was waving at him. "We have to make sure this treaty goes through," Kakashi whispers right back.

Just then, a commotion was heard and the two ninjas rushed over to see what was going on. Skidding to a stop, Kakashi swears silently as he takes note of at least four rogues trying to surround an elderly man.

"Hey, jiji! We're here to collect! 'Cause, we keep you protected from other bandits, ya see? Now, pay up."

The old man, who's visibly shaking, places his hands together and tries to bow politely. "I do not have any payment today. Work has been slow and my shop has not seen any customers in quite some time. Please, give me some more time…"

What looks like the leader of the group scoffed and grabbed the old man by the scruff of his shirt. Jerking him forward the leader spat in his face. "You have until tomorrow, jiji. If we don't see any-"

Kakashi, after realizing that this has gone on far enough, steps in to end this fiasco. "Now, now… This isn't the way to handle your own protection business, is it? Ah… what's your name?"

The leader releases the old man and sneers. "Hitatsu. Never thought you'd actually grow some balls and step in. How noble of you. The name's Kai. Remember it." That was all that was stated from this so called, Kai. And as he was leaving with the other members of his little group, he turns around and takes a look at Anko, or rather, Miku, and grins cheekily in her direction. "My, my… You get more and more beautiful everyday, Miku-chan. Why don't you spend time with some real men, mm?"

She nearly breaks character. Just nearly. Which would have been a first for her. Anko maintains her "Miku" act and smiles, just as the real version told her to. With a giggle, she bashfully looks away then glances up through her lashes. "If you ever talk about me or put down my husband again…" Her sweet look turned dark as she glares, "I'll kill you."

"Feisty as ever, Miku-chan! We'll get you someday." Kai whistles then tilts his head, signaling they should go now before Miku actually does kill them.

Once gone, the old man breathes a sigh of relief then looks up to his saviors.

"Hitatsu-san, Miku-san… Thank you. I was sure those ruffians would have hurt me or my wife! I am in debt to you both."

Anko shakes her head and smiles brightly to the old shop keep. "No need to thank us, ….?"

"Ah, sorry! You must help so many people… So many faces, so many names. I'm Gojiro."

Anko's eyes close and her smile grows. "Gojiro… Soon, this treaty will be passed and you won't have to worry about thugs like that. Trust me!"

He smiles right back and bows another thank you. "I do trust you. The people of this village trust you as well. We have your back completely."

With those words heavy on Kakashi and Anko's shoulders, they nod then look around at the villagers that gathered. They truly do have the backing of everyone there. Maybe this will make the job somewhat easier.


	7. ChristmasNew Year (Filler)

Anko's fingers taps impatiently against the table she's sitting at. Looking to the clock, she groans at the fact that Kakashi's late to their little Christmas and New Year's dinner they were throwing. The dinner isn't for anyone special, however it WAS Kakashi's idea and he has the audacity to be late to his own dinner? She'll definitely have a few words with him.

Slamming her fist into the table, she stands up and grumbles. "Freakin' Kakashi… Can't believe he has the freakin' nerve to stand me up. It was his idea too!" Chewing on her nail, she debates on staying in their shared apartment and waiting for Kakashi to show or to just leave and head to Kurenai's place to spend some time with her best friend. The latter seems like the best option, so she puts on her trench coat and braces herself to head into the snowy weather.

She keeps her coat wrapped tightly against her as she goes in the direction of Kurenai and Asuma's apartment. Anko swears and decides it's better to run than just walk. Taking in a breath of the crisp air, she dashes and ends up running right into someone.

"What the hell, watch where you're go-! ...ing…" She blinks a few times and groans. "Kakashi…"

Picking himself up, he wipes his back and rear end of snow and adjusts his scarf. "I could tell you the same thing, Anko." Grabbing the bag he dropped, he holds out a hand for her to take, if she so desires. "Were you going somewhere?"

Anko narrows her eyes. "Of course I was! You were gone for hours and I was getting bored! So, I figured going to Kurenai's was better than staying in our apartment alone." She relaxes just a tad and glances towards the bag he's carrying. "So… what did you get?"

"A gift for you and our dinner… why do you ask?" Kakashi replies and holds the bag out of view from his roommate.

"A gift?" Her eyes light up like a small child. "What the hell, I didn't know we were getting each other something! Shit…" With another groan, she points towards their home. "You head back. I gotta get something for you. And, ya know what? It's going to be amazing! Now shoo!" She makes a shooing motion with her hands and grins as she dashes off to whatever store is open.

Sliding right by the novelty market, she enters quickly and stop to catch her breath. Anko glances around to see if anything catches her eye for Kakashi. However, after seeing nothing, she swears under her breath and walks over to the owner. With a little wave, she gives her a smile. "Evening! Okay, I need your help. You see, my roommate is… an avid reader of the Icha Icha series. Is there anything you have here that might interest him?"

The owner hums. "People usually ask for things before Christmas, you know, lady. Most of our gifts aren't in stock until after the new year." Hearing this makes Anko's face fall. "However…" the owner states as she gets up from her seat and shuffles over to her stock room and pulls out a limited edition Icha Icha pajama and mug set. "I do have this… Someone had it reserved but never picked it up. Policy says that I can sell it after the initial pick up date… Which was…" She checks the tag and laughs softly. "A month ago. It's as good as yours now."

Beaming now, Anko pulls out her wallet and immediately pays for the set and watches as the other gift wraps it for her. "Thank you so much! You truly saved my ass here. Merry Christmas and have a happy new year!" Anko says as she dashes out of the store and immediately heads home.

'Kakashi's going to be so amazed with this! And it was the last one she had and was limited edition!' Anko grins triumphantly and snickers. She holds the gift close and sees the apartment complex come into view. Entering the building, Anko heads up to their floor and bites her lip as she looks at the nearly wrapped gift.

What if Kakashi has this already? He is that big of a fanboy of the series to get it as soon as it comes out. But then again, Kakashi has been on a mission since just before Christmas. He probably didn't have the time to actually get this edition.

She shakes her head though. "No, don't overthink it, Mitarashi. Just, give him the gift and be done with it." Taking in a deep breath, she unlocks the door to their joint apartment and heads inside to smell grilled fish and beef. "Oh, that smells heavenly…"

"Well, nice to see you're home now, Anko. I was wondering when you'd be home. I suppose your mission to get a gift was a success?" Kakashi asks as he comes out of the kitchen area wiping his hands on his apron.

Anko stares at the sight in front of her and she can't help but laugh. "Oh, my Kami, Kakashi. What… Is that an apron?" She laughs some more. "You look very domesticated. Please wear that more often around the apartment."

Kakashi rolls his eyes. "I didn't want to get my clothes dirty."

"Mhm, sure. You just wanted to look cute in that. Right?" She grins cheekily and places the gift onto the table. "So, is dinner almost ready? I'm starving."

"Almost. It needs to simmer a bit. Gifts first then we'll eat." He states as he takes off his apron and washes his hands in the sink. "Go get comfortable."

Eyes lighting up once again, she bounds to the sofa, gets comfortable and waits patiently with Kakashi's gift on her lap. Suddenly, her self doubt about the gift hits her once again. Anko has no idea why it's bothering her so much. It's not that it matters… She just swallows and watches as Kakashi comes over with her gift in hand.

"Now… I wanted to apologize for the late Christmas present. But with everything going on-"

Anko raises a hand. "No worries. I know how it is. It's the life for us anyways," she replies and gives him a smile as she hands him the medium-sized box. At the same time, she takes the package from him and taps her fingers against it. "You first!" she blurts out and grins cheekily.

Chuckling himself, he shakes his head then nods. "Fine, fine… Whatever you say," he replies and carefully opens the package. As soon as he sees those recognizable kanji, Kakashi gasps and turns his gaze to Anko, both eyes open in shock.

It's a rare sight for Kakashi to actually be looking with both eyes. Those mismatched irises of his… "I knew you'd like it… and judging by your reaction, I'm assuming you don't have this set?"

Kakashi shakes his head. "I… I've been too busy to buy one. And when I did have a moment, it turns out they were sold out. How-?"

"It's my charm, Kakashi. I can't tell you how though. That's my secret. Just enjoy your gift." Mentally exhaling a breath, she looks to her little box then looks to Kakashi. Anko sees how he motions her to open it, eyes closing indicating he's smiling. Grinning, she tears into the package and box and her eyes lay upon a gold snake bracelet and matching earrings. Her eyes go wide as she looks to her roommate. "Kakashi- no. This is way too much. I…"

"Accept it. I've seen you eyeing them when we were grocery shopping a few months back." He's still smiling under his mask. "Let me be a flashy roommate, Anko. Try them on."

Taking hold of the snake bracelet, she wraps it around her right wrist. Next thing she puts the earrings in and looks to Kakashi, smiling gently. "Well? How do I look?"

"Amazing, Anko. They look good on you."

"Anything looks good on me, Kakashi. Don't you know that?"

Kakashi chuckles softly then leads back onto the sofa and smiles again. "Of course."

Anko blushes faintly then leans back with him. "So… what are we going to do for New Year's? Staying here or going out?"

His head shifts to look at Anko, the faint light coming from the kitchen shimmers gently on her bracelet. "Up to you. Depends on if Tsunade has a mission for me or not."

Shifting herself, she frowns and rolls her eyes. "You deserve rest too, Kakashi. But… Just in case you do go out on a mission in the next few days…" She leans over and kisses Kakashi on the cheek. "Happy New Year."

Kakashi knows he's blushing under his mask and is suddenly very thankful for it. Closing his eyes, he places a hand on Anko's and pulls her closer, kissing her gently on the cheek in return. "Happy New Year to you too…"

They smile and after a moment, are leaning against each other in comfortable silence watching as the snow falls outside their apartment.

Next year… things will be different. Hopefully, they'll be able to celebrate the holidays on the day they actually occur. Despite that, things are good at that moment. As long as they celebrate something together, it doesn't matter when they do it.


	8. The Search

After finishing their rounds, Kakashi and Anko head back toward the little market Gojiro runs and decide to buy a few things to help out the store. Stocking up on some vegetables, meats, and even some sweets for Anko herself. Thankfully, it's not out of character for Miku to buy sweets here as well. So, that leaves Anko incredibly happy as she eats a piece of chocolate while they walk back to the estate.

"Tonight when people have gone to bed, we should scout and see what we can find on these rogues that harassed Gojiro today," Kakashi said as he carefully balanced the bags in his arms to open the door. Entering the manor, he went directly into the kitchen to put away their stuff.

Anko followed suit and placed her bags on the counter. "I think one of us should. That way we don't draw too much attention to TWO snoops." She reached into the bag and pulled out a box of dango. "I can do first scout session, Kakashi. You get some rest, you look absolutely exhausted."

Kakashi rubbed his eye with his fist and sighs. It would give him a break from the colored contacts. Then, he did remember something about how Miku liked going on late afternoon, early evening walks. He sighed again and took out the contacts. Blinking a few times, he nodded. "Fine… but, if you see any sort of trouble, come back here for back up. You got it?"

She stuck her tongue out and rolled her eyes. "This isn't my first scouting mission, Kakashi. Don't treat me like one of your genin," Anko squinted her eyes and chows down on her dango. "Besides, you forget who I trained under. I'm more than capable of getting more information from a couple of thugs. You worry too much."

"It's not that I worry too much, Anko. We just can't afford this going wrong and our cover being blown. Use a transformation jutsu if you see anything suspicious." Kakashi himself would go out on patrol, using a transformation jutsu as well, but… he already has limited chakra. With most of it going to the Sharingan, he wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. "If you're not back in a few hours, I'm going after you."

She glared at him then huffs, stuffing her mouth full of her sweet treats. "Yeah, yeah. I got you, Taichou. You don't need to worry about little ol' me. Now go rest. Let me enjoy this dango to myself before I go and scout the area."

He rubbed a hand down his face and groans softly. "Be careful," Kakashi muttered and continued to put their groceries away. Once done, he silently slipped away to shower and change.

Now that she was alone, Anko enjoyed the dango as much as she could. Glancing down the hall where Kakashi disappeared to, she sighed. He was just trying to watch out for her. Maybe she could be a bit nicer to him. Then again, where's the fun in that? She's a big girl and knows how to handle herself on recon missions. What was she, one of his stupid Genins? Suddenly, she bites angrily into her dango and glares down the hallway.

Standing up abruptly, she uses a transformation jutsu and leaves to do see what she can dig up.

xXx

A few hours passed and Kakashi had not heard a word from Anko. Pacing around the room, he ran a hand through his hair to try and calm himself down. When that didn't work, he went for one of his gloves and tapped at the metal decal. At least… this calmed him down slightly. The familiar noise of the metallic taps. Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes and counts.

After a few moments, he stands up, tosses his gloves onto the bed, and makes his way to the window. Swearing under his breath, Kakashi also does a transformation and goes out in search of his missing partner. Hopefully she wasn't captured or… Shaking his head, his jaw tightens. No, don't think like that, he tells himself. She's alive. She has to be. Steeling himself, he jumps from tree to tree speeding up to make it to wherever she is in time.

As soon as Kakashi was sure he was far away from the village, he stopped his tree hopping and landed on the ground. He caught his breath, bit his thumb, and with the correct hand signs he summoned his pack of ninken.

"What's up, er…. Kakashi?" Pakkun asked from where he sat on Bull's head.

"Mission stuff. I'll explain later. Just, help me find Anko. She's using a transformation jutsu too, I just need you to catch her scent. I… We need to make sure she's not in any sort of trouble."

Pakkun stared at him with a blank expression. "Find your new mate, got it. Scatter!" And all eight dogs left before Kakashi can even defend himself.

Kakashi scrunches up his nose and sighs. They are wrong in that aspect. Anko's not his mate, no. She is his comrade. A friend. And he'd be damned if anything he recklessly does ruins it. At the same time, however, his heart speeds up at the thought of being with her….

Woah, slow down there, Kakashi, he told himself. Just stick with being friends. No need to ruin anything.

He gives his cheek a soft smack and hears the dogs' howls. They caught her scent and it is time to jump into action. Kakashi speeds along the trees and ignores the burning sensation in his calves. This is of utmost importance. Pain can wait.

Eventually, he catches up with Pakkun and the others. "Update?" is all he asks as he lands on a branch and jumps forward to the next.

"You should rest, Boss… if she's in any trouble, you'd be useless if you're tired," Bisuke replies then sniffs the air again. "Anko's still a ways out… Her scent hasn't moved though."

That makes Kakashi slightly worried. If her scent has not moved since the ninken first caught it- No. Don't go down that route, Kakashi. Anko can take care of herself. Taking in a deep breath, Kakashi continues to tread on, regardless of what his dogs tell him.

He doesn't care what happens to him. He has to save Anko.

"Kakashi," Pakkun chimes in after a bit of silence and travelling between the group. "Kakashi, you need to conserve energy if you need to fight."

"I told her it should have been me to go on the first scout. And if anything happened to her… I wouldn't be able to forgive myself."

The dogs just look to one another and frown. Silently, they all hoped that nothing happened to Anko.

xXx

Some time later, Kakashi and his ninken find a camp where it seems the rogues are stationed. They're all bustling about since they captured Hitatsu's wife.

Narrowing his eyes a bit, Kakashi masks his chakra and gets a little closer to try and hear someone talk. He looks towards his dogs and silently tells them to fan out and find any weak points amongst the guards.

Once the dogs are gone, he sees a couple of Chuunin rogues and crawls over to listen in.

"Man… can you actually believe we caught Miku? Tetsuto is gonna flip when he finds out!"

The other Chuunin nods. "Well, yeah. But, if she doesn't give any information of their deal, he's not going to be happy either. So far, all she's done is eat sweets and make us cater to her before she "tells us what we want to know". It's bullshit if you ask me. I say we just put her under a genjutsu and-"

"Genjutsu you say? Well, don't mind if I do." Kakashi chimes in and brandishes his Sharingan as the two look his way and are caught in his genjutsu.

Getting the information he needs out of them is a piece of cake. They were singing like birds and Kakashi finds out that "Miku" is in a secluded tent on the other side of the camp. He did find it odd though. Anko supposed to have used a transformation jutsu before she left. Did she actually let herself get caught to see what they were up to? He'll have to ask her about that later. Thanking the two, Kakashi continues to mask his chakra but he has a feeling that a fight would happen regardless of how careful he is. He swears to himself and takes a better look around and calculate an escape for them.

'Hmm… Seems to be a small group. About ten rogues, twelve if I include the two knocked out. Now, judging by their skill levels, I can easily take on all of them by myself. However, there could be a few Jonins here as well. That would prove troublesome if they all go up against me.'

Sighing, he moves forward and decides to focus on rescuing Anko rather than fighting. If he can get out of this without fighting, then that's a win in his book. He did continue to mentally map out where all the tents and other ninjas were just in case.

Finally reaching the last tent, Kakashi slip through the flap and glances outside to see if anyone is following him. Thankfully, no one is. Relaxing somewhat, he takes a step forward and sees Anko brandishing a kunai. "Uh, hello there. I come in peace?"

"Kakashi, you idiot. Don't do that! I could have hurt you!" She whispers, but it's clear how upset she is. "What… What are you doing here?!"

Kakashi's lips purse together as he crosses his arms. "I did say I was going after you if you weren't back in a few hours. I didn't realize you'd actually get yourself caught," he whispers in return and glances around the tent, trying to find any clues about their adversaries. "What were they asking you?"

Anko hums and preps herself. Since she's still playing as Miku, she can't exactly participate in the fighting to come. "About the plans we have," she replies the word 'we' is said with finger quotations. "I knew they wouldn't hurt me since I'm full of valuable information for them. So, I decided to play with them." She smirks and laughs softly.

Peeking through the tent flap, Kakashi gives a slight smile under his mask. "Did you truly believe they wouldn't hurt you? They could change at any moment, Anko." He looks over to her and raises a brow as she waves him off. "I'm being serious."

"I know you are. I am too. Now, let's go. I'm tired of this place."

Kakashi rolls his eyes and slips past the flap. He senses no chakra around them, so he motions her to follow and as soon as he starts running, Kakashi suddenly feels an impact in his back as well as something warm trickling down.

Anko stops immediately in her tracks and turns around to find a rogue ninja. She seems skilled enough to hide her presence from either of them. "You must be an excellent ninja if you can hide from my bodyguard-" Anko says, trying to keep her facade up.

The rogue smirks and jumps down from her perch. "I hadn't realized you had an exceptional shinobi at your disposal, Miku. You truly must be desperate to get Hatake Kakashi of Konohagakure. He won't help you."

Removing the kunai from his back with a faint hiss, Kakashi grunts at the rogue and gets into a battle stance. He spins the kunai and in a flash, he brandishes his Sharingan. "Well, I suppose it's time I get serious, mm?" Kakashi leaps at the offending ninja.

Sparks fly as their kunai hit. He quickly reaches into his hip pouch and pulls out another kunai, his hand raising as he goes to hit his enemy.

She sees it coming however and jumps out of the way. In an instant, her hand goes up. Middle finger and pointer extended as her other fingers meet in her palm. "Might I add that it's an honor to see your Sharingan in action, Hatake Kakashi. You must be taking me seriously if you're using it already."

Kakashi stops moving to study what she's about to do. Genjutsu? Ninjutsu? Something else entirely? "Tch…" He has memories back to when he and his team went up against Zabuza and Haku at her statement. Closing his eyes, he pushes those thoughts away and tighten his hands into fists. "Don't toy with me… Hajikano Aki."

"Oh, so you have heard of me? I must have caused quite a stir if I'm in your bingo book," Aki adds on with a sinister grin.

Anko looks to the both of them and swears under her breath. Mission be damned, she should be helping her partner! Taking in a deep breath, she calms herself down. Anko knows that she shouldn't jeopardize the mission. But the want to kick this lady's ass is gradually building. If she can't face her now, Anko hopes she faces Aki in the near future and not as Miku.

"Kakashi… I know you can handle her. Beat her ass," Anko says as sweetly as she knows Miku would speak.

Nodding as a confirmation, Kakashi throws both of his kunai and makes a dash forward. Hands moving at lightning speed, he breathes in and releases a fire jutsu in an instant. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" The great fireball moves forward consuming whatever's in its path.

Aki, however, isn't fooled and immediately dodges, jumping to a new perch. She has heard how Kakashi tends to go underground after using the fireball as a distraction. Biting her thumb, she makes hand signs and slams it against the side of the tree. "Summoning Jutsu!" A lizard appears in the puff of smoke and hisses. "Find him!" After a moment, the lizard blends in with its environment as it searches for Kakashi.

Then, faster than the eye can see, Kakashi's behind Aki and grabs hold of her wrists and wraps his arm around her neck. "Alright… talk. What are you true intentions behind everything. Why not let Hitatsu and Miku complete what they've worked so hard for. Is it money? Power? Tell me."

Laughing. Chills can be felt going up Kakashi's spine as the shrill sound hit his ears. "What's so funny? You're in no predicament to be laughing, Aki."

"Where's the fun if I just tell you what we have planned right now? Oh, no. We're just barely starting, Hatake." Her head turns slightly. Then some more… and more until she's looking directly at him, her eyes as big as saucers. "I would say I look forward to us meeting again… but you're going to be trouble if I keep you alive for more fun…." Aki's body starts turning into mud.

"Mud clone…!" He looks around trying to find the real Aki. When did she switch out? Kakashi had sensed her chakra the entire time. She never left the tree branch! He tries to move but suddenly realizes that the mud is solidifying around him. "What- I can't move!"

Aki's head appears in the mud, the maniacal smile still on her lips. "Half right, Hatake. I did say that I can't keep you alive for fun. This… This is where you die." Cracks can be seen forming from the corner of her lips as she opens her mouth. Inside were multiple paper bombs and one by one, they light up to explode.

Anko watches as the tree is engulfed in an explosion with Kakashi at its epicenter. Her eyes go wide as she runs to where he is and sees him lying face first on the ground. She looks around to see the area completely deserted. With the camp now abandoned, Anko drops her act and hesitantly flips Kakashi onto his back once the smoke dissipates.

"Kakashi…?"

No response. Biting her lip, she checks his pulse and feel something very faint. 'Not dead…' she thinks and looks around once again. Surely he summoned his dogs before checking the area? Where the hell are they? Anko knows that Kakashi can't wait though. Mustering up her chakra, she effortlessly gets Kakashi up and above her shoulder. She grunts and goes to leave the camp.

Once out, she adjusts her hold of Kakashi. Now giving him a piggyback ride, she starts to run as quickly yet carefully as she can back to Inaho-mura. Anko can feel the faint warm breath coming from his mask against her neck and she takes that as a good sign.

Until the feeling grows fainter and fainter. Her head turns towards him and she jostles him slightly. "Hey-! Don't you dare croak on me, Kakashi! We're supposed to see this mission through! Together! Teamwork and all that jazz you preach! C'mon, Hatake…. I thought you were too stubborn to die! …. Hold on, we're almost there!"

Anko has no idea how much time Kakashi has left. She just knows she has to get him back to their place and tend to his wounds to the best of her abilities. He just has to hold on. He has to.


	9. The Place Between Life and Death

Inaho-mura could not be much further, Anko thinks to herself. She can feel sweat drip down the side of her face as she races back to the village. Thankfully it was the cover of late night now. Anko didn't care who would see her right now, if anyone is out at this time that is.

Her whole entire body burns from sheer exhaustion from carrying Kakashi and running all the way back. But, she didn't care. Kakashi is her main concern and nothing will get in the way of that. That is until she hears a howl and a group of eight ninken appear running next to her.

"And where the hell have you guys been?! Kakashi could have used your help!" She snaps at Pakkun since he's the closest to her. Immediately she stops and motions quickly for Bull to come over. Once the big dog is near Anko, she places Kakashi carefully on his back. "Come on. I don't care where you guys went… Searching or whatever… but, we have to save Kakashi now!" Anko starts running the rest of the way, again ignoring the burning sensation in her legs and lungs.

Pakkun stay silent the rest of the way to the village Anko and Kakashi were calling home for the time being. He knew how important Kakashi is to Konoha. He also knows how important Kakashi is just as a person. Kakashi's more than a tool, but that's all he ever treats himself as. Pakkun keeps his eyes forward hoping they can help the pup in time.

xXx

Kakashi's eyes open up and he's in a clearly lit and very white room. Sitting up quickly, he looks around and frowns. Then, it hits him. Where's Aki? More importantly, where's-

"Kakashi! You're awake!" came a voice coming from the door on the far side. Kakashi glances over to the door and his eyes go wide.

"R-Rin…? What are… Why are you here?"

Rin rolls her eyes but smiles gently at her teammate. "You're at the hospital. Why else would I… and you be here? You seriously hurt yourself on our last mission, Kakashi." She walks over with a tray of fruit for him to try and eat. "You really gave us a scare there, mister."

"I… What happened to Aki? To Anko?" Kakashi asks, hoping that this is some kind of sick joke.

All Rin can do is frown. "Aki? I've… never heard of her before, Kakashi. I think you're concussed, you need rest."

He tries to get up, but he has no strength in his legs. So, he stays in bed and sighs, getting slightly irritated. "Well… what of Anko? Where is she?"

She blinks a few times then has an 'aha' moment. "Oh! She's with her team. Why? Since when did you care about her, Kakashi? She's… scary."

Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle. Sure, that's how Naruto describes her. But… she's more than that. Getting a bit more comfortable, he closes his eyes.

'Kakashi!'

This causes him to shoot up in bed and look around. "Wh-What? Rin, did you say anything?"

Rin shakes her head. "I… no? I was just about to leave so you can rest. Why do you ask?"

He goes silent then shakes his head. It could have been the concussion. Perhaps he's hearing things from the mission he was hurt on.

Right?

'Kakashi, you better not die on me! Hang on!'

Shutting his eyes, Kakashi ignores the voice. Although he's still suspicious of what's going on… he can't help but feel like he belongs here. It just feels right.

xXx

'Damn it, his breathing is even shallower! That explosion must have broke his ribs and punctured his lungs!' Anko thinks as her worried gaze travels along Kakashi's motionless figure. She swears under her breath and finally sees the village and their estate in the distance. "Finally…" she says mostly to herself. After a moment, she has the other dogs go ahead as she fixes up her appearance to look more like Miku. Taking in a deep breath, she walks swiftly back to the estate, thanking whoever for the empty street at the moment.

Once inside their home, Anko immediately makes a mad dash to where Kakashi and the dogs are. Swallowing a sudden lump in her throat, her brows knit together as she immediately starts to try and get a better assessment of Kakashi as quickly as she can. Suddenly, she wants to thank Tsunade and her old despicable sensei for showing her a bit of medical ninjutsu to treat superficial wounds. Anko may not have the medical training like the Godaime and Shizune, but she can at least assess the cuts and know for a fact that his lung is indeed punctured which results in the labored short breathing.

"Okay… Pakkun, you talk while I bandage him up. And if I don't like what I'm hearing… you better scurry your little tail away from me or else." Anko says as she goes to get some medical supplies the estate has. With the box in hand, she scurries back and kneels next to Kakashi, cleaning him up first. "We should get a real doctor for him… but the mission would be compromised." Taking in a deep breath, she decides it's better to actually cut his shirt off to get a look at his torso for anymore damage. Grabbing the scissors, she cuts along the fabric and even cuts the mask part. 'He'll thank me later,' she thinks and stares at bruises everywhere.

Anko shakes her head then looks to Pakkun, the glare returning. "So? Start talking. Tell me where the hell you guys were."

Sighing, he looks to the other dogs then back to Anko. He explains how the rogues left after the explosion and how he and the others were tailing them to see where they'd go. "They must have known about some type of body guard system. That camp was just a diversion. And that leader girl escaped with the rest of the shinobi. We would have continued tailing them, but we sensed something wrong with Kakashi and immediately came back to where we found you. I… we're sorry for deserting him when he really needed us." Scratching behind the ear, Pakkun sighs. The pup might give him flak for this but- "Listen, Anko. The boss… er, Kakashi, he really cares about you. I hope you decide to do the right thing to save him," Pakkun adds on and in a poof of smoke, all the dogs vanish.

Eyes widening, Anko looks to where the ninken just were. "Fuck…" she mumbles then chews on the inside of her lip. Then, Kakashi's words echo in her mind. 'To know what is right and choose to ignore it is the act of a coward'. Hardening her gaze, she immediately gets up and heads to the door. Secret identities be damned. Kakashi's life is on the line if he doesn't get proper treatment! She leaves the estate and heads to the village doctor in hopes that they could help her.

When Anko finds the sign for the medical center, she starts pounding on the door. "I need a doctor please…! I need help!" It felt so out of character for her to be this desperate. However, she knows that this is one thing that she can't do on her own.

And knowing that Kakashi might die at any moment… fills her with dread. 'Wait…' she thinks to herself after one more pound against the door. 'What's this feeling? Why am I… This is Kakashi, for crying out loud. He's a good friend. He's a fellow Konoha shinobi. I…' She grips her shirt with her hand and pounds against the door. 'I… I need him in my life.' Anko pounds on the door again. "For fuck's sake- Open up!"

The door opens up and a slightly older female adjusts her glasses to see the other. Anko gets a good read at her name tag. "Miku? It's very late. Why are you here?"

'Kawana Atsumi…' Anko thinks to herself then composes herself to the best of her ability. "Atsumi-san… Please. You need to come with me. I… I need your help."

Atsumi raises a brow but doesn't ask any further questions. She grabs her kit and nods. "Take me to whoever needs healing."

xXx

Kakashi awakes once again to his filled with people. He blinks a few times, clearing the sleep from his eyes as his vision goes into focus. What he sees astounds him.

"Well, well, well. Looks like Bakashi is awake now. Finally. Rin was worried that you actually croaked. Thankfully, I told her not to worry."

'Obito…'

"Now, now, Obito. Leave Kakashi alone. He just woke up and you're already poking fun at him? Give him a few days, at least."

'Mi-Minato-sensei.'

"Okay, everyone. Let's give my son some rest. According to Rin here, he has a bad concussion so he'll be out of it for a while."

Kakashi eyes widen at who's talking. "Father?" he actually says out loud, without even realizing it. This can't be. His dad committed suicide when he was still a child.

Sakumo nods. "Of course. Who did you expect?"

"Sakumo-sama came back from his mission when he heard how injured you were, Kakashi," Minato chimes in and leans against the wall to Kakashi's right.

Now this is definitely strange. Everything is… not how it should be. Obito, Rin, Minato-sensei… his father, they should all be dead. Kakashi rubs at his temple and grimaces. "You all shouldn't be here."

"Where would we go, Kakashi? We're still here with you no matter what."

His eyes snap open at that remark. "What?"

"This is your perfect world, Kakashi. We're all alive here and know how much you miss us." Sakumo replies with a smile.

He shakes his head and rubs his temple once more. "No… this is not perfect. Because if it was-"

"Anko would be here too, right, Kakashi?" Obito says and pops a lollipop into his mouth. "She's not here because subconsciously, you don't know how she feels about you. To her, you're just a friend. Why go back to that world when you have everything you could want right here?"

Kakashi closes his eyes as he thinks over what Obito had just said.

'Kakashi, I have a-'

"That voice… it sounds so familiar," Kakashi mumbles as he listens for it again.

Minato walks over and places a hand on his shoulder and squeezes gently. "Must be your concussion, Kakashi. You just rest up, okay? We'll discuss the outcome of your mission later on when you're feeling better."

"Yeah…" he whispers.

'Come on, Kakashi! Stay with me! You… You gotta wake up now!'

'Wake up?' Kakashi thinks to himself. 'But, I'm so sleepy…'

xXx

Atsumi sees the man on the floor and her eyes widen. "Hitatsu? What on Earth happened to him?! And, who is this Kakashi?"

Anko decides it's better to come clean. "I..." she takes in a deep breath to calm her nerves from worrying over Kakashi. "He's not Hitatsu and I'm not Miku. We're shinobi from Konohagakure. The real Hitatsu and Miku hired us as their stand ins to see the Inaho-mura deal through to the end. See, they've been threatened and they figured having us in their place would be better since my partner and I are better equipped at defending ourselves." She looks to Kakashi and she frowns. "However, the rogues have some strong ninja on their side as well.

Atsumi purses her lips together. "Well… I suppose your secret is safe with me. It won't leave this estate. I know how important missions are to ninjas," she adds on as she starts using medical ninjutsu to heal Kakashi.

"Wait… Are you-?"

"Used to be. But, now I'm retired and helping out this nation and village." She smiles faintly. "It was so peaceful here… before the ruffians showed up and wanted us to pay them for protection. But you see, it was also their men that attacked us. So, despite us paying them to protect us, they also attacked us and would raise their fees every single time. It's gotten to the point where Inaho-mura can't survive much longer as a village."

Anko kneels down as her gaze goes to Kakashi's face. Gently, she caresses his cheek and sighs. "Atsumi… You save him, and I'll make damned sure those who ransack this village time and time again pay for what they've done. You can count on me."

Her brow raises curiously. "And, if I can't save him?"

"Then… I have another reason to take those rogues down." Her jaw tightens as she steels herself for any possible outcome.

Atsumi smiles and nods. "I'll try my best. Go clean yourself up. Maybe take a nap. You look utterly exhausted… uh, what's your name?"

"Mitarashi Anko. Tokubetsu Jonin from Konohagakure. That's Hatake Kakashi… he's-"

Atsumi's eyes widen slightly at her patient. "Kakashi of the Sharingan, mm? Well… Looks like I have my work cut out for me. I've heard of him and the great feats he's accomplished." She looks to Anko and motions to the hall. "Go, he's in good hands."

Anko tries to say something. Instead, she closes her mouth and looks down in defeat. With a nod, Anko leaves the room and heads to Kakashi and her joint bedroom. She looks towards the bed and closes her eyes. He'll pull through, she knows he will. He's way too stubborn to actually die at the hands of those ninja. Stripping off her clothes, Anko goes into the bathroom and rather than start a shower, she runs herself a bath to try and rid herself of the day's happenings.

How did the day go so wrong? Getting into the tub is more than worthwhile at the moment. Hissing at the heat, she sinks into the water and thinks of a plan of revenge. And hoping that Kakashi wakes up soon. Then, it hits her.

'How am I supposed to make this entire thing work with fuckin' Kakashi out of commission? How can I pull this off without the so called man behind this entire deal?' Anko thinks to herself and bites her thumbnail. Trying to calm herself, she closes her eyes. It… Her just trying to do things while Kakashi's unconscious can work. She's a woman of many skills. Her running this solo should be a piece of cake.

But that's not her only issue. "It's the fact that Kakashi can go either way," she mumbles softly to herself.

'Wake up, Anko! Don't you dare start with this shit now!' she mentally tells herself. Her realizations hit her once more. 'When did… When did all of this start? Do I…?' Anko covers her mouth with her hands and gasps softly. "Fuck…" She hugs her arms around herself in the tub and rests her chin on her bent knees. "Get ahold of yourself, Mitarashi…" Anko tells herself and takes a deep breath to try and calm down from her realization.

She straightens her legs and allows the water to wash over her. Slinking lower and lower until the level is at her chin level, she finally manages to relax when knocking has her jumping immediately out of the tub and rushing to put on a robe. Throwing the door open, Anko looks at Atsumi with wide eyes. As she waits for something… anything from the doctor, Anko couldn't take in a breath to fill her lungs. It feels like eons before Atsumi adjusts her glasses.

"I fixed all of his major injuries. He's still comatose though. I… I don't know when he'll wake up. And without a proper hospital-"

"N-No. Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on him. We can't compromise this mission." Anko steels herself and puts on a facade. "If anything changes, I'll get you."

Atsumi nods and starts to walk away. "Anko… are you okay as well? You seem… very on edge. Is Kakashi someone… special to you?"

She has never heard those words before. 'Someone special to me…?' she thinks to herself. Anko scrunches up her face. "I… I guess you can say that? He's a friend and a comrade, so… He's definitely special to Konoha."

Taking of her glasses, Atsumi raises a brow. Her steel blue eyes stare holes into Anko. "I didn't say the village. I meant… does he have a special place here," she adds on and points to the spot where Anko's heart is.

Anko is not one to blush. And she isn't about to start now. Crossing her arms, she looks away. "I don't know. Yes? No? Maybe?"

The doctor places her glasses back onto her face and actually walks away. "Well, you're the closest person he has right now. Take care of him," she states and packs her belongings away and takes her leave from the manor.

Anko however did not move from her spot in the bathroom. 'Atsumi's right,' she thinks. 'I… I have to take care of him. He'd do the same for me.' Straightening herself up, she lets the water out of the tub, changes into more comfortable clothes and spends the rest of the evening by Kakashi's side. She stares at him, hoping that there's a sign that he's waking up.

His mask, cut straight down the middle to allow a better flow of air. She can see the bruises creeping up from his back towards his front from the explosion and landing. Anko moves a bit of hair from his face and notices how peaceful he looks this very moment. This causes her to smirk weakly.

"Just like when I found you hugging me while we slept… Damn it, Kakashi… you gotta wake up. We have to talk about some things…"

xXx

'You gotta wake up. We have to talk about some things… Kakashi, please.'

Kakashi wakes up and realizes he's still in his hospital bed. Groaning, he rubs at his eyes and manages to sit upright. "Who wants to talk to me…?" he asks groggily and realizes that's alone. In a very eerily quiet room.

"Hello?" he calls out to see if a nurse will come to check up on him. Maybe he can go home today?

When no one came, he removes the blanket and gets up and walks towards the door. Opening it, he sticks his head out and sees darkness in both directions. Did the power go out? But then, why is his room still lit? Turning around, he tries to walk back to bed but with every step, the bed doesn't get any closer.

In fact, it seems to be getting farther and farther away.

Now, Kakashi's running and still getting nowhere.

'Kakashi…'

"Stop it-"

'Please wake up…'

"I can't wake up if I'm already awake!" Kakashi calls out to the familiar voice. "Who is that?" he asks himself and stops running.

Then, darkness starts to consume him.

"Oh, looks like Kakashi wants to leave. But we won't let him, will we?" came a voice directly behind Kakashi.

He tries to turn around and when he does there's no one there. "What?"

A figure appears to the right of Kakashi and he notices it immediately. "What do you want from me?"

It takes a step closer and soon it starts running. Once in view, the figure turns out to be a half crushed Obito, blood dripping from his wounds, eyes gone.

"We want you to stay with us forever. Once a team always a team, right Kakashi?" Obito says with a sinister grin and vanishes right as he reaches him.

Breathing heavily, Kakashi's eyes go wide and his head jerks to the right as another figure appears. Kakashi tries walking to it and this time, he's capable of doing so. "Rin…" he whispers and reaches out for her.

Suddenly, his Lightning Blade appears and his hand is now through her chest. Blood sprays all over him. And he tries his hardest not to gag at the thought of killing one of his closest friends. "R-Rin?"

Rin slowly lifts her arms and grabs his wrist. Looking up at him, her eyes were no longer hers, but the sanbi's instead. "You should have tried another way to save me, Kakashi. You shouldn't have listened to me. You shouldn't have used your Lightning Blade against the enemy. Then, I wouldn't have used it against you. For killing me… you deserve to stay dead." The three tails' chakra appears and the giant monster roars out loud. It lifts its hand and slams it down sending a shockwave.

But right before it hits Kakashi, the shockwave, sanbi, and Rin were gone. He looks around, falls to his knees and vomits thanks to the sudden wave of emotion he felt. Taking in a deep breath, he clothes his eyes and tries to will himself awake now. There's no way this is real. This is… all a nightmare.

"Aw, look at him… he's trying to wake up," came another voice.

Turning his head, Kakashi sees Minato and Kushina. Giant holes in their abdomens from when the kyuubi attacked the village. He can also see pools of blood around them and the blood still dripping from the gaping wounds.

"You're not going to wake up, Kakashi. You'll stay here and we'll all be one happy family once again. We all died protecting someone we cared about. You'll join us soon… You just have to give in to the sleep…"

His eyes were wide. "Protecting… I was… protecting Anko… I was fighting against rogue shinobi terrorizing Inaho-mura…"

Kushina looks to Minato, eyes going red then turning all black. "We're starting to lose him, Minato. Let's call for one more…"

Wiping his mouth, Kakashi finally looks back up and sees he's alone once more. Swallowing, he sits down properly, brings his legs up and rests his forehead against them. "Just leave me alone! Let me die in peace then!"

"If you do die, you'll be with me once again…"

His head darts up and he sees his father, sword sticking out of his chest. "Dad…"

"Come on, Kakashi. You deserve a nice and long rest. I'll even cook your favorite… miso with eggplant."

"But, Anko…"

"She doesn't love you, Kakashi. She'll never love someone like you. You have too much baggage, my son. She won't be able to handle it. Besides… you carry around a curse. Everyone who gets close to you will eventually leave or die."

His eyes go wide at the thought. "Anko wouldn't… she's more stubborn than me when it comes to death."

"Look at your genin team. They all left you, son. See? You're not meant to hold lasting relations."

He takes in what Sakumo's saying. It's true, though, everyone does leave him eventually. Maybe he should just join them.

Sakumo holds out his hand and Kakashi is about to take it when another figure appears. This time… it's a figure of light. Pulling his hand away, Kakashi gets up and starts walking towards the light.

"Kakashi…" the light says. "Don't listen to your demons. Listen to what your heart tells you. You are loved. You are wanted. No one will continue to leave you," it says.

Kakashi's sceptical now, but he listens to the light rather than the darkness around still calling to him now.

"You still need rest, however. But believe me… you will leave this world of limbo and will soon combat your demons head on. With the help of someone precious to you."

He furrows his brows. "Precious to me?"

"She's waiting for you to wake up. She's been the one calling for you," the light says.

Reaching out to touch the light, he frowns under his mask. "How do you know? Who the hell are you?"

The light dissipates revealing a woman with unruly brown hair half kept up in a ponytail. She has the signature Inuzuka fangs tattooed on her cheeks. Smirking cheekily, she places a hand on his shoulder. "Because a mother just knows. Continue resting, my son. Continue fighting the demons that plague you. Oh, and, don't listen to them. I don't want to see you on this side until you're old and gray… well, grayer." she jokes about his silver hair. Then, she sighs and smiles at the sight of him. "You did take after your father… I'm glad."

"M-Mom…" he whispers and immediately goes to hug her. Once her arms wrap around him, the young man ends up transforming into a child… a scared kid. "Mama…" Kakashi, now three years old, repeats himself.

"Oh… There he is… There's my scared little boy. Shhh…" She carries him on her hip and holds him close. "I'm here… You don't need to hide anymore, Kakashi. Let your emotions out. Stop hiding them, okay? I know it'll be hard. But… try to be a bit more open."

The young child wipes his nose with his sleeve and nods. His chubby little cheeks red from crying. "There's my big boy," she says, smiling. "Now, what did I say for you to do?"

"Ignore my demons," he repeats. "Don't hide my emotions…" Kakashi knows that one will be hard to do. But, he's going to try.

"Good," she says and kisses his forehead. "Now… let's take away this darkness…" Raising her arms, the darkness starts to swirl and goes into a small ball now in her possession. "There…"

"Mom… Thanks," Kakashi, now back to his normal age, says and smiles slightly under his mask.

"No need to thank me, Kakashi. I'm just doing what any mother would do to protect her child."

"Right…"

She smiles then goes to give him one last hug. "Now, rest… You'll be waking up soon. And remember-"

"Don't listen to my demons. Yeah," he adds on and rubs at the back of his neck.

Nodding, his mother starts to walk off and just as she does, she turns around to give him a smile. And that was the last thing he saw before she turns into light once more and vanishes from this plain of existence.

'Wake up, please….'

"Soon, Anko… Soon." Kakashi says to himself with a little smile.


	10. The Showdown

The next few days for Anko are pure agony. She only left the villa to make sure the village is okay and to restock the kitchen. Anko even makes sure to make something that Kakashi likes in hopes that a familiar scent might bring him back. But, when he hasn't so much as stirred, Anko begun to actually lose hope.

Sitting next to Kakashi on the floor, she studies his features and notices the stubble and how… musky he has become.

"Shit…" she mutters and quickly goes to get a rag and bucket of warm water to clean up the Copy Ninja. Anko wipes him down and debates on what to do with the stubble he has. Deciding to just leave him be, she throws the rag into the bucket and scoots it over so she can sit on the floor with ease.

Over the last few days, Anko had managed to read every single book that Hitatsu and Miku owned and she has thought about turning to Kakashi's favorite series. But, she'd sooner eat her own foot before she reads those so called novels. 'If… no, when Kakashi wakes up, I really have to talk to him about his choice in reading material.'

Realization strikes Anko when she corrects herself. He has to wake up. The village needs him and Anko has come to term that she needs him too. While he's been in a coma, Anko thinks over her feelings and everything between the two of them. It's been nearly half a year since she moved in with Kakashi. Honestly, she's always known about his feelings, but she /tried/ to never return the feelings. She felt she didn't deserve to be… cared about by someone like him. Plus, she was supposed to be the village crazy snake lady. Men were supposed to be scared of her. She was the student of Orochimaru after all. … That part is something she isn't proud of anymore. In fact, she /still/ feels like she's under his shadow even though it's been years since she left his tutelage. The mark on her shoulder and just him… Sometimes, she feels like she's suffocating thanks to everything having to do with him.

But with Kakashi, maybe she can move forward from her past. And maybe… just maybe she can help him with his past and demons. She knows it will be hard, but she's willing to try. That's all she can do, right?

Anko looks him over and smiles sadly at him. "Probably should have let you kiss me that night we left Kurenai's, mm?" Adjusting herself, she lays next to him and places a hand on his chest, feeling him breathe, which soothes her for the time being. "I just really need you to wake up. Please." Soon, she's chuckling. "I don't beg for just anyone either, Kakashi. Consider yourself lucky."

She imagines his retort and closes her eyes, seeing his closed eye smile as well. "Damn it, Hatake… You better wake up, you asshole."

Swearing to herself, she gets up immediately and changes to head out. She has to seek some other form of human interaction that's not her… friend in a coma. However, before she leaves the manor, she looks back to Kakashi's body and bites her lip gently. She did promise she'd keep an eye on him. But at the same time, she has to make appearances as Miku. Yeah, that's definitely a good reason for human interaction.

Anko takes a deep breath and heads into the village to give it the proper check it deserves instead of the simple walk around and head back to check on Kakashi.

When she actually looks around, she sees just how bad the village is doing. Less people were on the streets selling things for fear of the gang of ninjas running amok with news that Kakashi was taken down and there was no sight of Hitatsu.

Her blood starts to boil at what she sees. Letting out a stream of air through her nose, she talks to everyone in hopes of getting to the bottom of this… And perhaps she'll get some more ninjas to help out.

The only person willing to talk to her was Gojiro. He tells her how the gang upped their prices of protection since the so called leaders tried to run them out and failed.

Anko nods at the old shopkeeper and tells him not to worry. She gives him her best smile and decides to make one last stop before she heads back to the manor.

Knocking on the door of the little medical house, she waits patiently and looks directly into the eyes of Atsumi. Smiling weakly, she heads inside once the medical ex-ninja moves out of the way.

"Any changes in him?" she asks.

Anko shakes her head. "Nothing yet. Usually I'm carefree about this sort of thing. We're ninja, this is our line of duty," she replies after making sure they were alone, as to not blow her cover. "He was unconscious for a bit after a fight with Uchiha Itachi." Anko crosses her arms and sighs. "But this… I feel to blame for this. So, it's hitting me hard, I guess. I feel like I should be doing more for him!"

Atsumi places a hand on her shoulder. "All you can do right now is be there for him. Be there when he wakes up. He'll definitely be disoriented when he does. You'll have to catch him up and keep him stable and not worried about anything. Got it?"

She looks warily at Atsumi and just nods. "Got it," she replies. "Uh… might sound weird, but, do you have anything for insomnia? I can't sleep."

"Worried about Kakashi, mm? I have this herbal tea that's specially made in the area. Give me a second to whip you up a small batch."

Anko watches as Atsumi heads to her office to make a batch. Sighing, she glances at nothing particular on the floor and her grip tightens on her arm as her mind is finally made up. "Never mind, Atsumi. I have something I have to do," she starts, "... watch Kakashi for me." And with that, she leaves the office to head back to the manor.

The ex-ninja walks out of her office and is about to retort when she notices that she's all alone. "Damn it, Anko…"

xXx

Changing out of her Miku clothes and into her usual outfit, Anko wipes her face from the makeup, fixes her ponytail to how it usually looks and packed a small bag of extra shuriken, kunai, and explosive tags. "It's now or never," she states as she glances once more to Kakashi and smiles faintly. "I'll be back, I promise."

Adjusting her pack, Anko makes a mad dash towards the area they last saw Aki and the other rogues. Thankfully, she has skills as a tracker, so it wasn't all that difficult to find traces of their whereabouts. They weren't necessarily skilled ninja in masking their old camps.

"Tch… rookies," Anko mutters to herself as she finds blatant tracks most likely leading to their main base. Her eyes narrow though. She knows it's most likely a trap and she's heading right towards it. But, she doesn't sense any chakra in the immediate area. Taking in a few breaths to compose herself, she bites her thumb and summons one of her smaller snakes to check up ahead. Once it's given its orders, the snake slithers off. Anko decides to take this moment to compose herself even more and not let what's going on cloud her judgement. She knows she'll never hear the end of it if the usually calm and collected Anko lost her shit over Kakashi being injured.

She also knows that getting revenge is not a good idea for trying to fight someone. But… this time, she's willing to make an exception for. Closing her eyes, she waits for her snake to return before any action can take place. She leans against a tree, arms crossed over her chest as she hopes the snake makes a swift return.

xXx

Atsumi sighs as she heads into the manor Kakashi's comatose body's in. No one asked where the doctor was going and she's definitely glad for that. Reaching the living room, she kneels by Kakashi and checks him over. "Hmm.." she hums out loud, taking down some notes and rereading old ones to see if there's any change. As she reads on, she does notice that his breathing is better and his bones are healing nicely thanks to her chakra.

"Think one more session is in order," she says to no one but herself as she places her hands glow green on his chest. While healing him, Atsumi looks to his face since she felt… something. "Mm?" Staring at Kakashi's face, Atsumi waits for something to happen. When nothing did, she raises a brow and goes back to healing the injured shinobi.

There's no way.

Or is there?

Groaning. That's all he can do at the moment.

"Ka-Kakashi?" Atsumi says to his groan. "No way, are you awake?"

His right eye opening should be answer enough for her. "Where…" he pauses to swallow a dry lump in his throat. "Where is… Anko?" Kakashi asks, not even aware of his exposed face or the fact that she knows who he is.

"I… I don't know. I just know she said she had something to take care of." Atsumi frowns. "Do you think she'd be reckless enough to fight the enemy by herself?"

He tries to get up, but Atsumi stops him immediately. "I wouldn't put it past her, honestly. I know… she's smarter than this, but her temper…" Kakashi swallows and realizes that his mouth is extremely dry. "Water-"

Atsumi nods and heads to the kitchen to get him a cup of water. She helps him drink and settles back down next to him. "You can't even get up to go after her, Kakashi."

Then, it hits him. "Wait… how-"

She rolls her eyes. "How else would you even be awake right now, good sir? I've been healing you the last four days, Kakashi. Don't worry, Anko's and your secret has been safe with me."

"How can I trust you?"

The medic taps a bruise of his and narrows her eyes. "You're alive, aren't you? Anko and I made sure of that. Besides… no one outside of this manor knows about you, Hatake Kakashi. They're too scared to ask… what, with what's been going on over the last few days with Aki's gang running amok now."

Kakashi frowns. "That bad, huh? I need to help out Anko-" He tries to get up but is stopped by Atsumi's hand forcing him to lay back down.

"Nope. You're staying here. Anko can handle herself. Have more faith, got it?"

He pauses then nods once. "Yeah…" Kakashi knows she can handle herself. He still feels like he should be there to help her. He swears under his breath, eyes closing. All he can do is rest and hope for the best with Anko being able to handle herself.

"She'll be fine, Kakashi. Just rest and be ready for her to return."

He nods once more. "Okay."

xXx

Once the snake came back, Anko steels herself as her snake returns. Given confirmation, she takes a deep breath and dashes towards the camp. This is the final leg of the journey, Anko tells herself. If she can beat them here and now, the village will be safe for good. The deal that Miku and Hitatsu have put their blood, sweat, and tears into will be completed and the land they care about will be saved.

Her mind goes through various plans. Every single outcome. Every single tiny detail, she thinks of. It would be easy to just attack with a huge snake summon of hers. Attack the biggest area she can and pick off the stragglers. Nodding to herself, she builds up chakra, bites her thumb and summons one of her largest snakes.

In a huge puff of smoke, the snake appears, hisses loudly, and smashes into the campsite, killing most of the rogues.

Anko watches as stragglers start to run towards the snake to try and kill it. But with its thick hide, the small kunais and paperbombs are merely tickles and faint scratches. She smirks, commands it to keep the ninjas encased in the smaller area, then she jumps down to kill the few ninjas that remained.

Once most were down, Anko starts to feel uneasy. 'This is… too simple. Too easy,' she thinks as she kills another rogue. 'Where the hell is Aki?' Tapping her chin with her finger, Anko glances around to see if she can find the rogue kunoichi. She keeps her guard up, however. Kunai at the ready just in case she has to defend herself.

Just as she is about to set up a trap, she hears a disembodied voice.

"Oh, dear Mitarashi Anko. Did you really think I would let you off this easy?"

"Genjutsu….?" Anko says to herself.

"Mhm… you're right. There's no way you can break out of this by yourself. And, now that you're here… I can take you to Orochimaru-sama." Aki replies, appearing just a bit away from Anko, darkness engulfing the both of them.

"Orochimaru…?! What does he have to do with this?"

Aki laughs. "I might as well catch you up. Who do you think put all of this together? Orochimaru. He wanted me to put Hitatsu and Miku under a genjutsu so they… can be persuaded in choosing ninja that look like them to replace them as they go out and see the neighboring lands. I knew Hatake and you were the phonies the entire time, my dear."

"Why not get me when you had me in your other camp a few days ago?"

"I hadn't expected Kakashi to show up. He… put a little damper on the plans."

Anko snarls. "This seems extremely extravagant just for him to get his hands on me. He was the one who left me. Why would he ever want me back?"

"Don't know. Didn't ask, Anko-chan…. Now… be a nice little ninja and come with me to Orochimaru-sama. He's been expecting you." She beckons Anko with her finger.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, her body moves on its own and heads towards Aki. Thankfully, she had a backup plan, just in case. With a snake hiding in her sleeve, she has the snake bite her, injecting her with its own supply of chakra in order to break her from the genjutsu.

She keeps the facade up. Walking up to Aki, offering her hand. Once Aki takes it, Anko sends a few snakes from her sleeve and wrap up the kunoichi.

"What?! How? My genjutsu is near perfect! You shouldn't have been able to break out of it at all!"

Anko smirks and lifts her free arm so the sleeve falls down. "Near perfect, as you just said. Besides… I always have an ace up the sleeve." Snickering at her own little joke, Anko turns serious and brings Aki closer. "Give me one reason to not kill you here and now. And if I like it, I'll let you live."

Aki racks her brain for anything to help her. Nothing comes to mind however. Even her mud substitution isn't working, her eyes go wide as she actually fears for her life.

"Aw, can't use your mud jutsu? As soon as my snakes wrapped around you, they were syphoning your chakra. They're teeth are like needles, so you probably didn't feel them. Or you're so full of adrenaline. I don't care either way. You're dead and this land is safe." Anko states matter-of-factly.

"Ah… you are like him. So cold," Aki says quietly.

Anko's blood ran lava hot as she had her snake break Aki's neck. She seethes, has the snakes recede and lets her body drop dead onto the floor. "I will never be like him… I… I have something he doesn't." she tells herself and checks the surrounding area to make sure any and all rogues were killed.

Looking to her snake summon, Anko pats its side and nods. "Go rest buddy. Thanks for your help."

"Anything for you… Anko-sama," the blue snake says then poofs away.

Her gaze goes from the land around her to her hand. After a moment, she reaches for the dormant curse mark on the nape of her neck. Maybe… Maybe she is more like him than she lets on.

"No… I'm nothing like him."

Anko knows Orochimaru's plans were foiled this time, but, he would probably always be after her. No, she'll always fight against him. She has a home to protect. A someone… to protect. Then her head jerks up.

"Kakashi!" she exclaims and makes her way back to the manor.

xXx

At this point, Kakashi's finally able to sit up. Atsumi helps him rest on the sofa, rather than the floor now. Despite having faith in Anko, he can't help but be worried.

"Atsumi-san… Did Anko look prepared to fight a whole camp? I just… I know she's well capable. But-"

She looks up from her medical file, over the rim of her glasses. "Kakashi for the last time, don't worry-"

They were interrupted by the door opening and banging against the wall. Kakashi looks up and sees a tired and scrapped up, but otherwise unharmed, Anko. "Anko, you're back."

Anko says nothing. She stares wide eyed at the man on the sofa. The man that just a few short hours ago was still in a coma. With lips pursed together, she walks over to him, places her hands on his shoulders. She still stares at him then pulls him in for a hug.

"Don't you dare scare me like that. I thought you were dead, Hatake…"

Kakashi, surprised by the hug, eventually returns it. His eyes close as he pulls her closer, glad for her safe return.

"I'm too stubborn to die. You know this, Anko," he says with a faint smile.

Her heart flutters, seeing his smile without his mask. She smiles faintly in return and looks to Atsumi. "I want to thank you too, Atsumi-san. Without you… Kakashi might as well have been dead."

The ex-medical ninja smiles, nods, and stands up. "Well… he'll make a full recovery. Anko, if you want I can tend to your injuries?"

"Oh.. yeah, sure," she replies quietly and pulls away from Kakashi to be healed.

"So, what happened?" Kakashi asks as Atsumi begins healing.

"So much…" Anko trails off, trying to figure out where to begin.


	11. Beach Vacation (Filler)

"Gai, do you have to sit so close to me? It's hot enough without your overbearing body heat right next to me," Anko hissed, her arm outstretched to push Gai away from her. A satisfying smirk appeared on her features as he moved away to another sofa in the apartment.

"Beloved Rival of mine! How did you not know your AC unit was out today? You should have kept a better lookout, Kakashi!" Gai bellowed as he plopped down and fanned his face. If anyone actually paid attention, they totally would have known he was panting to try and keep cool.

Kakashi appeared from the back of the apartment and wiped his forehead with his bare arm. With it being so hot, Kakashi was practically naked in his tank, with attached mask, and long shorts on. "Gai, you do have your own apartment, don't you? Not that I don't mind having you here. But- Why are you here?"

After a moment, Gai stopped fanning himself then stood up, spun around, and gave Kakashi a thumbs up. "Because, my rival, I have a proposition for you!"

Anko groaned. "You're way too hyper for a hot day like today. Please, if you to do another dick measuring contest, please take it outside and far away from me. Thank you."

"Anko…" Kakashi sighed then ran a hand through his hair.

"Besides, we both know my dick is loads bigger than the both of yours," Anko added quickly and grinned broadly to her roommate and his rival. She shrugged at their stares. "Like you didn't expect this from me… But, changing the subject… How are things with you and Shizune? I noticed you two getting… cozy, mm?"

Gai didn't expect that to be brought up. His personal life was none of her business! Right? Besides, there was nothing going on between them. She's just the only medic who happens to not be busy whenever he goes in for a check up! There's nothing wrong with that. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Anko- Now, back to us, Kakashi! I say we swim five hundred laps! That way we cool off but keep up our rivalry!"

Kakashi was going to retort but that gave him an idea. "Maybe… but how about we go to the nearest beach resort and actually go on vacation? I believe we all have a few days off, right? It'll be perfect for relaxation and for cooling off."

The tokubetsu jonin beamed at that. Anko jumped from her seat and threw her hands into the air. "Hell yeah! I want to go to the beach! Anything's better than being cooped up here with nothing to do!" Anko nodded and grinned even more. "This'll be our own little mission. Just have fun! And… I think I know the perfect person to bring along with me. Since, you know, you two have each other. I need another lady friend!" A very evil sounding laugh left her throat as she bounded towards the door. "You two pack, I gotta invite my friend! Play nice you two!"

And with that, Anko left the apartment.

Silence seemed deafening. Mismatched eyes looked over to Gai as his brow rose curiously. "Gai, do you know where she's going to go?"

Gai looked slowly over to Kakashi and he shrugged. "Invite someone? Think it's going to be Kurenai, my rival?"

Kakashi chuckled softly then shook his head. "Gai… don't ever change, okay? Now, go. We gotta pack for our apparent vacation."

The Blue Beast grinned and gave Kakashi a thumbs up. "Right! I'll pack! Just let me know when we leave!"

"Alright, Gai. You'll be the first person to know." Kakashi waved when Gai left and shook his head again. "Gai… you're so oblivious… Anko's going to try to drag Shizune along."

xXx

A few days passed and all the preparations were complete. The impromptu vacation that Anko initiated was okayed by Tsunade and that's all the ninjas needed before they left.

But, they couldn't leave peacefully. No, Anko had to show off to her fellow ninjas at the gate.

"Aw, look at the two of you. Working away in this heat." A little grin appeared. "Make sure you both stay hydrated, Izumo! Kotetsu!"

Izumo grumbled, gaze looking onward as Kakashi, Gai, and Shizune walked past them. "How the hell did the lot of you get to go on vacation?"

Shizune clapped her hands together excitedly. "Anko invited me! I don't know exactly what happened… But, I don't even care! I haven't been on a vacation in years! Between helping Tsunade-sama… I've never had a moment to myself, actually…"

Anko's grin grew more. Her own agenda was to try and get Gai and Shizune together. She was able to sense the chemistry between them and knew that this trip could help them. Anko only hoped that Gai would be able to spend longer than five minutes away from Kakashi. But of course, her plan would be flawless! Getting them together, and relaxing at the beach, would be the main focus of the snake kunoichi.

Kakashi shrugged. "I was stockpiling my days off. So, I figured it would be better to use them now then never."

"Oh yeah. We all know you would work yourself to death, Kakashi," Kotetsu chimed in, wiping his nose childishly at his quip. The Chunin did respect Kakashi, however.

"You know I can go see Tsunade-sama right now and try to give you both a much harder mission than gate keeping. Anyone can do this," Kakashi replied and gave them both an innocent smile.

Gai wrapped his arm around Kakashi's shoulder. "Kakashi! Come on! Stop patronizing the gatekeepers! They're being youthful in their endeavor! Now, off we go!" He laughed, pointed, and started to run out the village.

Shizune laughed softly and shook her head. "Ah, Gai-san… He's certainly has loads of energy, doesn't he?" After a moment, she too followed out towards their destination.

Silence fell upon the four shinobi still at the gate entrance. They looked to one another, bid their farewells, and Kakashi and Anko left as well.

"I know you have some kind of ulterior motive inviting Shizune, Anko… And while I can't believe you're using our vacation to do this… I think this will do Gai some good."

"Aw, Kakashi. Thank you for seeing things my way. Watch, by the end of this vacation, Those two will be closer than ever!" Anko replied happily.

Kakashi chuckled. "How about you wait til the end of the vacation to see, hmm?"

Perhaps… after this vacation he and Anko will be closer as well.

xXx

All four shinobi arrived at the resort at the eastern edge of Hi no Kuni. The trip was uneventful, except for the occasional teasing from Anko and smart remarks from Kakashi. Gai and Shizune chatted and even stayed next to each other for most of the trip.

_'All according to plan…' _Anko thought to herself as she looked at the horizon and saw pristine water and the beautiful white sandy beach. "I'll get us checked in!" she yelled then dashed ahead to make the room arrangements. She'd know exactly how to put everyone…

When she ran off, Kakashi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I know exactly what she's doing.." he muttered to himself. Why was she still up to her antics? Although, he did value her tenacity. He shook his head and continued onward, wondering if the other two caught on.

Much to Kakashi's surprise, Gai and Shizune still chatted in their own little world. His brow rose at how well they actually were getting along. "Huh.." he whispered and decided to just go along with Anko's crazy plot for their two friends. "Hey, you two. You're going to get left behind if you don't pick it up," Kakashi told them after he turned to walk backwards. After a moment, he turned around and chuckled as he heard the two scurry to catch up. Maybe it will work, as long as they haven't caught on to what Anko was planning.

Once they reached the inn, Kakashi entered the establishment with Gai and Shizen in tow. He blinked a few times at Anko's huge grin. "Do I want to know what you're grinning at, Anko? What did you do?"

She snickered and stood proudly, room key in hand. "Only the best thing ever! Kakashi, this is our keycard. Gai, Shizune… This one is yours!"

Kakashi couldn't believe it. As much as he'd have liked to room with Anko, she's basically forcing Gai and Shizune to be in the same room. Then again, he'd probably never hear the end of challenges from his rival if he roomed with him for the weekend. The silver-haired jonin shook his head and took the roomkey from his roommate. "I suppose we'll get settled in. Will you two be okay with these arrangements?"

The blush was evident on Shizune's face, but she smiled and nodded. "I'm okay with it! I mean, why wouldn't I be? If Gai-san's okay, I am too," she replied matter-of-factly.

Gai gave Kakashi a thumbs up. "Of course I'm okay with it!" The Blue Beast grinned and made a flashy pose as he took the key. "While I would room with Kakashi, Anko must have done this for a reason!" His gaze went to his rival. He remembered about Kakashi's crush on Anko when they were younger. This is obviously perfect for them to get closer! Gai laughed then offered Shizune his arm. "Let us be off, Shizune! We have to get comfortable then go to the beach! We don't have a second to lose!" And like that, they were both gone to their room.

Silence spurred between the two jonins still left behind. Anko looked at Kakashi and took the roomkey back. "My plan is foolproof. They'll realize how good they are together and tada! Mission accomplished."

"Or they know exactly what you're doing and just playing along, Anko."

A finger went up in a retort, but no words were formed. She huffed then headed towards their room. "Shut up. Come on. We only have a few days here. And I want to utilize the whole time tanning at the beach and gorging myself on sweet drinks and foods."

"That can't be healthy. But whatever floats your boat," Kakashi added and followed her.

xXx

The next few days were spent at the beach swimming and just relaxing, in Kakashi's case. On the day before they were leaving, he sat by the inn and had reread both Icha Icha novels about three times. He sighed, wondering if Jiraiya was making the next installment. Closing the novel, he placed it on the little table next to his beach chair and gazed out towards the pristine blue water.

Gai was swimming laps from one side of the beach to the other. Shizune was laughing, and cheering Gai on, which made him swim even faster. At one point, it looked like Shizune actually gave Gai a little peck on his cheek.

Maybe that was just Kakashi's eyes playing tricks on him. It was incredibly bright outside. His gaze shifts to his right when a loud groan escapes the body in the chair next to him. He chuckled at Anko and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay there?"

"I guess," Anko replied then sat up, adjusting her sunglasses. "We should be in the water too. Why aren't you swimming?"

Kakashi pointed to his wetsuit. "I'm ready in case Gai challenges me. But hey, I could ask you the same thing, Anko."

"I'm giving those two their space. I knew my plan would work. See? Did you see the cheek kiss? They're totally into each other!" She grinned then adjusted herself in her seat. "But… the water is looking nice right about now…" Anko trailed off.

His gaze went back to the water. "I can fix that…" A smirk appeared under his mask. He quickly hoists Anko onto his shoulder, ignoring her yelling and flailing. Adjusting them both real quick, Kakashi dashed towards the water and dunked them both.

"Kakashi! No!" was all Anko could say before she went in. Frantically, Anko breached the surface and gasped for air. Her usual stylish ponytail was now a sad mess. "Kakashi!" She growled, splashing at him for laughing.

"What? You wanted to go into the water! Don't get mad at me for giving us a little push." The grin under his mask was really prevalent. He splashed her in return.

Soon, a whole splash war broke out. Kakashi wouldn't admit it, but it took every ounce of his control to not use a Water Style jutsu against his three companions.

xXx

After their swimming and splashing escapade, the quartet sat in their jointed living room. Gai and Shizune sat leaning against each other. The day's event made them tired and thus led to a nap.

Anko grinned at the sight in front of her and pointed it out to Kakashi. "See? Told ya. My gut instincts are never wrong."

He chuckled and sat next to Anko, his arm draped over the back of the sofa. "Funny… I think they were just toying with you, Anko. I truly think these two had a thing starting back in the village… You just pushed them closer." A little smile formed under his mask. "I… really think they're good for one another."

She, with no prompting from Kakashi, leaned against him and nodded. "I think you're right. Plus… I think they were trying to get us together too. I mean… why else would they actually let us room together. Or am I just crazy?"

"Who knows, Anko. Gai's mind is certainly mysterious." Of course, Kakashi is probably one of the few people to get a glimpse into it. "I'd rather let things flow naturally. For myself, I mean. So, if… well… I suppose it'll happen if it does."

Anko looked at Kakashi with a raised brow then shrugged. She didn't want to pry, it wasn't exactly her place to do so. But… Does he actually believe that there's a chance for the two of them? Anko thinks silently for a moment and leans against Kakashi again, eyes closed. "You never know Kakashi. Fate is a fickle thing."

xXx

All good things must come to an end. They all decided to leave that night rather than the next day in order to have an extra day of recuperation in their respective homes. The trip back was filled with chatter and definitely more lively than the way to the beach.

This made Anko giddy seeing close Gai and Shizune had gotten over the last few days. Maybe Kakashi was right. Maybe there was something going on and they just needed a little push in the right direction. Thankfully Anko was there to help out! She's definitely a matchmaker. She was the one to push Asuma and Kurenai together after seeing them make goo-goo eyes since their academy days. The same thing could be said about Hayate and Yugao, until his untimely death a year prior.

Still! She's pretty good. Her gaze went to Kakashi as they walked. She studied his features as he read his beloved novel. Maybe she can help him get with someone? Then again… no one has ever caught his eye. Well… there was one. Her gaze shifted to the dirt road before them. Maybe… Maybe she can give him a shot. Well, when the time's right, of course.

"Anko? Something on your mind?" Kakashi asked when he noticed she seemed spaced out.

"Huh?" she blurted out then shook her head. "Oh, no. I'm alright. Just thinking about sleeping in my own bed. What about you? Anything different about the novel? Or do you really just love reading the same story over and over?" She grinned broadly. "You're a hopeless romantic."

Kakashi chuckled and flipped the page with ease. "I am, yes. Besides, it's just a really good story. I can't wait for Jiraiya-sama to publish the next novel."

Anko gave Kakashi a hip check and she laughs as they walk. "I swear, if you keep bringing that up… I will burn your novels." There was a sinister glint to her gaze.

"You wouldn't."

"No. But, isn't he training that little Uzumaki runt? Maybe he's too busy to write. You may have to wait for a few more years, Hatake."

"Maybe… but I'll wait patiently," Kakashi replied and went back to reading.

Gai and Shizune watched the interaction between Kakashi and Anko. Smiled formed on their features. They were a few steps behind the other two and still kept their distance.

"See? I told you we should have focused on them a bit more. They're so close to getting together." Gai whispered to Shizune, excitement almost building up.

"But, as long as they keep their walls up, it won't be an easy task, Gai-san. They'll have to open up to one another first. That's an important step before any relationship can take place."

The Blue Beast hummed and crossed his arms. "I guess so, Shizune. I thought agreeing with the sleeping arrangements would help out… They're so stubborn!"

She laughed. "They really are. But… Only time will tell right now. Just let them figure things out for themselves. Besides… I think Tsunade-sama has a mission that will help move things along as well. At least… we're in the process of finalizing all the details for this mission."

"Oh how dastardly of her…! I'll await with baited breath then."

"Me too, Gai-san… Me too." Shizune replied as she watched the two in front of them bicker over the quality of Icha Icha.


End file.
